Locals keen for Christmas cheer at Mareeba races

By Jordan Gerrans

Allan Holmes’ Bella Bianca will spearhead a glut of local gallopers aiming for some Christmas cheer at Mareeba on Boxing Day.

The annual Boxing Day meeting on the Atherton Tablelands is a popular event in Far North Queensland which always attracts a strong crowd.

Local trainers such as Holmes, Matey Taylor and Alex Malliff will be banking on their home deck advantage across the non-TAB program.

The Malliff barn will be well represented with seven gallopers entered while Holmes and Taylor will present with one each from their yard.

Holmes’ five-year-old mare has found the going tough in her last five or so starts as she has often been handed a wide starting position.

It is the same occurrence on Thursday when she jumps from the nine alley.

The daughter of Dissident ran a strong race at Mareeba in her first appearance for the Holmes team in late August when she was beaten less than half-a-length.

“She ran a good race on that day,” Holmes said.

“Her problem is that she has drawn wide again on Thursday and she has had those kind of barriers almost the whole time I have had her.

“She drew two that day at Mareeba when she ran well.”

Bella Bianca has gone through several stables in her 25-start career and collected her one victory at Rockhampton over 1050 metres in November of last year when prepared by Angela Stephens.

With local hoop Nor Yadi booked to do the steering on Thursday, she drops back to the speedy 900 metres in a Benchmark 50 Handicap.

Holmes had also nominated her for the Open Plate over the same trip but he has opted to contest the lower-graded event.

“She will want to go forward and it will be about if she can hold them out at the end,” Holmes said.

“She is a half-handy mare.

“She is not brilliant but she is a mare that should have won a couple more races by now but has not done so.

“This is my home track – I want to send her around on Boxing Day.”

Holmes also doubles as the Mareeba Turf Club president.

He prepares a small team of three and was last in the winners’ enclosure in June at Atherton when Rivalon broke her maiden status.

Rivalon has been spelling and is on the way back to the races and will feature early in 2025.

The 74-year-old Holmes also has an unraced three-year-old filly named Ember's Crown that he is getting ready to take to the races.

She has just been broken in.

“She is by Cluster and looks all right – I am hopeful for her,” Holmes said.

“She will start at some point next year, maybe in the middle of February.”

After strong rain across FNQ in recent days, the Mareeba track is rated a Heavy 9 as of Tuesday morning.

With no rain forecast over the coming days, Holmes is hopeful the track will get into the soft range by Thursday afternoon. 

Mareeba club secretary Rhonda Stevens says the entire community is looking forward to the Boxing Day races.

“It has been a challenging year for the Mareeba Turf Club due to the unusual wet season,” Stevens said.

“However, with the Boxing Day races just around the corner, the Mareeba Turf Club is preparing to host a fabulous day for this annual event and are hoping to provide the race goers with an epic day of entertainment.”