At the end of the highly anticipated Funny Hill Picnic Cup at last Saturday's Binda Races, it was a seven-year-old gelding by the name of Southern Gamble who emerged victorious.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Trained by Doug Gorrel, Southern Gamble has a long and storied career on the track, and this win was his sixth from 84 starts.
However, it is the latest of several strong results.
"We were reasonably confident coming in, we'd run three seconds [places] in a row up at Tumbarumba and Queanbeyan," joint horse owner Gordan Kelso said.
Kelso also praised Maddy Wright, who rode three winners on Saturday.
"We were very pleased to get young Maddy Wright on board," Kelso said.
"She rode the horse to an absolute peach of a ride ... and obviously took out Jockey of the Day. [She's] a terrific young girl."
This was Kelso's first experience with the Binda Picnic Races, and he was pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming public support for the event.
"It was a delight to win," he said.
"The crowd was so enthusiastic, we had so many people come up and pat us on the back.
"A credit to the country picnic jockeys, they really go hard at it."
Southern Gamble will likely next race in Cootamundra in three weeks time, with the goal of qualifying for the Picnic Championships in Dubbo this September.