Central Queensland Thoroughbred Breeders Association General Manager Adrienne McCosker (pictured at the Rockhampton meeeting on 11/3/10) has a glint in her eye following the success of the Magic Millions QTIS 600 sale last Sunday and Monday. The CQTBA Yearling Sale is on Sunday 11 April.

Travelling the 1600-kilometre round trip between Ipswich and the Central Queensland capital of Rockhampton a fortnight ago, was sure a bit of a hairy drive, given the constant rain and negotiating a badly pot-holed Bruce Highway, the understandable end result of a plethora of recent wet weather right across the State. The countryside was a maze of green - and seeing no brown grass during the entire drive was indeed a rare event.

The modern day Rockhampton is no different to most other Queensland towns and cities in that it is a hive of activity - with its ever expanding city boundaries.

The Rockhampton racetrack of Callaghan Park came in for its fair share of criticism from within the industry during 2009, following the turf track being closed for a $6 million refurbishment on 27/4/09. That “$6 million refurbishment” involved getting a sand track to the stage whereby it could conduct TAB race meetings. Those sand track meetings were then to be replaced by turf surface meetings when the re-cambering work had been done at the Callaghan Park course proper, and the subsequent newly laid turf had properly knitted. Prior to the sand track being ready to race on, Yeppoon, a seaside community a short drive from Rockhampton, hosted TAB meetings at their track.

The Rockhampton sand track experienced problems of its own during its development in that too much depth of sand was initially put down on that track, but after those problems were eventually rectified, it finished up holding seven race meetings between its first sand meeting on 10/11/2009 until the turf course proper resumed racing on 29 January this year.

During its use, the sand track even managed to create a piece of Australian racing history at the 19 January meeting this year when female jockeys rode the entire seven race TAB card after apprentice Alisha Taylor rode three winners (County Sheriff, Fire Hazzard and Malicious Gal), her fellow apprentice Carly-Mae Pye rode two winners (Ima Cool Dude and Run The Rapids), whilst senior riders Shayla Evans (Hezaburrboy) and Trinity Bannon (In Bold Fashion) both rode one winner each. Whilst female riders had previously ridden the card at a non-TAB meeting, this was the first time in Australian racing history that the feat had been achieved at a TAB meeting.

From my own observations and from talking to jockeys, trainers and owners during my trip to Rockhampton a fortnight ago, it appears that almost all licensees are happy with the new turf track, with many even going so far as to give it rave reviews. Today on the website www.brisbaneracing.com.au in the “Australian Pacing Gold and Gold Coast Turf Club Part 2” photo montage, there is a close up photo of the new course proper for website visitors.

With the opening of the new turf track in January this year now being almost ancient history, the next momentous event that is set to happen in the Rockhampton racing community is the upcoming Capricornia Yearling Sale, which will be conducted on Sunday 11 April at the Rockhampton Showgrounds, where selling gets underway at 10.30am.

For the racing fraternity, the few days leading up to the Capricornia Yearling Sale will be as busy as a Beirut bricklayer, as a Calcutta is being held on Thursday night 8/4/10, before the $123,000 Capricornia Yearling Sale Classic race is run the following day at Callaghan Park. The Callaghan Park track hosts a double header race meeting, as they will race again the following day, Saturday 10 April, with that meeting date coinciding with the AJC Derby meeting in Sydney. The Calcutta will feature as its guest speaker Joe Janiak, the man who part owned and trained the now retired champion sprinter Takeover Target during his illustrious career. The Calcutta night gets underway at 6.30pm at the Cambridge Hotel/Motel. Tickets are $35 per person which includes dinner and one free Calcutta ticket. Master of Ceremonies on the night is local Callaghan Park racecaller Russell Leonard, whilst fellow Mackay racecaller Tony McMahon will do a phantom call. There will also be an auction of sporting memorabilia.

Whilst in Rockhampton recently – and subsequent to my visit, I have been in contact with Adrienne McCosker, the General Manager of the Central Queensland Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CQTBA) and to that end Adrienne has a glint in her eye in respect of the upcoming CQTBA sale which contains 111 yearlings. “Magic Millions and everyone concerned, would have surely been happy with the QTIS 600 sale results from last Sunday and Monday and I expect our sale to achieve a similar result, as that same QTIS 600 prizemoney that forms the basis of the Magic Millions sale is available to any QTIS registered yearling that pay up, whether it is sold through the Capricornia Yearling Sale, or any other sale in Australia,” Adrienne said yesterday.

On the day Justracing was in town, 11 March, the success of the Capricornia Yearling Sale was shining through, as sale graduates graced the winners circle on the day. Winners Forade, trained by Leanne Applewaite and Calypso Moon, trained by Allan Jenkinson, got the bikkies whilst King Hunter, another Capricornia Yearling Sale graduate, also trained by Leanne Applewaite, for well known owners Bill and Vivien Boys, lined up for his 51st race start and the chance to eclipse the $200,000 prizemoney barrier, before unfortunately running second, beaten only a head.

Even Race 1 on the program that day had a sale connection when the 2YO race was won by the Falvelon filly Layla for locally based owner/trainer Jim Rundle and his son Steve. “We have a Falvelon colt in the sale (Lot 87). He’s from the Moonee Valley placed mare Sasaru Gamu, herself a half-sister to a Group 3 placegetter and from a stakes-winner. This colt is outstanding, and a dead ringer for Falvelon himself,” Adrienne told me.

The first race on that day was one selected to have the Capricornia Yearling Sale $1,500 “winners voucher” presented to the winning owners - and that voucher is one of 10 winners vouchers that are up for grabs before the sale, to the winning owners of 10 selected races. Eight of the 10 winners vouchers have already been issued and the two remaining vouchers will be presented to winning owners prior to the 11th April 2010 Capricornia Yearling Sale. With this popular concept, the 10 x $1,500 winners vouchers are redeemable against the purchase price of a yearling at the 2010 Capricornia Yearling Sale. In fact one of the two remaining vouchers will be issued to the owners of the winner of the 1200-metre Maiden Handicap tomorrow on the TAB program from Callaghan Park.

It should also be noted that whilst I was in Rockhampton I also did interviews with four apprentices – Alisha Taylor, Renae Hinricks, Kayla Cross and Kazuki Mizobe – and one fully fledged jockey Richard “Megs” Hall – and as soon as I get a break in the traffic their stories will go up here.