Entertainment
19 November, 2024
150th Cooktown Cup an odds-on favourite
A sunny day with a slight breeze made Cooktown racecourse, as usual, a fantastic location to host its 150th annual Cooktown Cup on Saturday, November 9.
Large numbers made the trek north from the Douglas Shire, Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Tablelands, plus further afield, many of whom made the historic town home for the weekend.
As usual the hospitality of the locals and the Cooktown Amateur Turf Club was outstanding, with large groups seated under the shaded areas, enjoying nibbles throughout the afternoon.
Seven local races provided the eager punters with a full day of racing, together with other country wide racing events, on view, from the big screens.
Cooktown races wouldn’t be the same without ‘Fashions On The Field’ and as usual there was a superb turn out in the various categories.
One notable win was best dressed man, Matthew Thiel from Redlynch, who has now taken the honours three years in a row.
The main Cooktown Cup race turned out to be the pinnacle of the day, with the eventual champion horse Choir Boy winning by 11 lengths.
This mammoth victory was achieved in a course record time of 1:45:45, basically a fraction over 1 minute, 45 seconds.
Jockey Nathan Day won three races over the afternoon, with his final Cooktown Cup win making it a very special occasion for the local Choir Boy owners who made the trip up from Cairns and Port Douglas.
Celebrations started immediately and continued into the evening.
At the end of the day, not to be shown up, some of the two legged guests demonstrated their running skills with a children’s and adult’s ‘Dash for Cash’ sprint along 100 metres of the home straight.
Those with enough energy then danced into the night to the sounds of the local and very popular Black Image Band.
I’m off to check my betting slip, so for now it’s Gazza signing out.
Send your stories to gazza@cairnslocalnews.com.au
