What Petrol Crisis?

Two of the more remote racemeetings in Australia have their big days tomorrow (Saturday 9th).
Louth, a speck on the map on the Bourke-Wilcannia road a mere 830 kms from Sydney, has its annual day. Several thousand will turn up by land and air, a la Birdsville. Stakeswinner Rocking On is topweight in the $16,000 Cup. He was placed last start at Enngonia (sounds like a disease), a dot on the map between Bourke and Cunnamulla. So was another ex-Waterhouse charge, Leewards, topweight in the Ratings 67. Probably the best-bred horse running out there is Let's Bat, a half-brother to Chuckle by Encosta de Lago. His only placing in six attempts has been at aforementioned Enngonia. Looks like Enngonia's the key form line.

It's Broome Cup Day over in WA. I'm picking a lot more people have been to Broome than to Louth, but stuck out where it is Broome is hardly the centre of the racing world. The Cup is worth $70,000 so things must be going good in Broome. Leading Perth trainers Neville Parnham and Adam Durrant have sent up runners, perhaps they're on one-way tickets? Broome is just 2,175 kms from Perth. The youngest horses in the field are a pair of five-year-olds, the oldest is nine. Former eastern staters Call Me Henry (Waterhouse again, 10yo, 20 wins), Stella Regale (9yo, 9 wins) and The Little Tacker (11yo, 13 wins) are in the feature sprint. Should be a pearler of a day.

Appropriately situated, for this weekend, on the Olympic Way (10 kms south of the world's largest known uranium deposit at Olympic Dam) is Roxby Downs which also races Saturday. However, this is much closer to town, only 530 kms north of Adelaide. It's a modern metropolis compared to Louth, with about 4,000 people, one-third of whom are under 15 years old. Roxby Downs was created from scratch in 1987 by a joint venture between the State Government and the Olympic Dam mining company. It draws on Strathalbyn, Gawler and Murray Bridge horses to fill the fields. There are only two non-claiming jockeys riding at the meet, Philip Crich and Tamara Zanker.

It's Cairns Cup on Sunday. Bruce McLachlan has sent up a team, including the Cup topweight In Rehearsal. It's only a leisurely 1,610 kms from Bruce's place to Cairns.