Picnic racing in the bush on show

By Jordan Gerrans

For country racing participants, grass fed picnic racing is always a highlight on the calendar.

The Tower Hill Picnic Amateur Race Club ran their annual two-day meeting late last month with the Oakley Amateur Picnic Race Club next up on the dirt.

One of those who is entrenched in grass fed racing it is Longreach horseman Cam Tindall, who followed in his father's footsteps that competed before him.

Locally, the Oakley Amateur Picnic Race Club meeting is known as ‘Kooroorinya’.

The Tindall family grew up around the Kooroorinya area and after training seven winners at Tower Hill last week, the stable are aiming to again ‘clean up’ at Kooroorinya.

With strong recent rain in the region, the 64-year-old says it helps sustain grass fed racing.

“It is the best grass I have ever trained on,” Tindall said.

“That is what it all comes down to really.

“Hopefully we can go up there to Kooroorinya and train a few winners as well because the feed is still good and the horses are looking well.”

Tindall used to ride all his own gallopers in their track work at his property but has passed on that job in his older years.

Tower Hill and Kooroorinya are two of the last registered grass fed meetings in Queensland with Ewan, Twin Hills and Oak Park, among others, in recent times switching to corn fed gallopers.

The Tower Hill meeting is held at Hillview Station, 45km north west of Muttaburra, and has been running for more than a century. 

Across last Friday and Saturday, 15 races were held with the Tindall and jockey John Dagan team taking home their fair share with seven victories.

That was not even a career-best mark for Tindall, nabbing eight in a weekend earlier in his career. 

Gallopers such as Do I Have To, Dansk Havn, Taormina Match and Mrs Senna were stand outs for the trainer and rider combination.

Dagan collected seven victories for Tindall and one for Robert Macintosh – landing eight over the 48-hour period.

Tindall’s family has been in grass fed racing for generations and he notes that Dagan – a former professional jockey – has a special touch with the grass fed horses.

“He has brilliant hands,” Tindall said of the hoop.

“And, he can judge a grass fed horse so well.

“Grass fed horses have one run in them and it is not a big run – so you need to be in position and not let the field get away on the corner."

Tower Hill president Ian Batt owns the property the races are held on and says the local community began preparing the track in January with their first of four ‘working bees’.

The club boss says families from around the state enjoy descending on the race meeting every year.  

“It was a great weekend. We had heaps of horses and lots of people,” Batt said.

“I reckon it was up on last year in terms of attendance and a good group of people. Everyone had a good time.

“It is rewarding and every one puts in a lot of effort to get it done.”

“For the community it is a great social event and everyone makes an effort to get to it.

“People travel a lot of distance to be there. They are special meetings.”

While there is the obvious difference between grass and corn fed meetings, Tindall believes the people in the bush that love the picnic race days often then make their way to tracks such as Longreach and Barcaldine.

Following Tower Hill’s races, all attention now turns to Kooroorinya starting on Friday of next week.

A total of 14 races are set for decision at Kooroorinya.

Tindall prepares a team of around seven horses and he usually does not need to give them any work between the two picnic events but says he will this year to keep them up to the mark.

The majority of Tindall’s race horses began their journey in South East Queensland with conditioners such as David Vandyke, Trevor Miller and Tony Potter.

They often have a long spell in the paddock to adjust to the change of feed, with some taking around two years before they are able to race at picnic meetings.