Rockhampton Jockey Club’s Racing Year in Review Part Three: Feb to April 2024.

We’re getting close to the end the RJC’s Year in Review, this instalment summarises three very busy months at Callaghan Park, from February through to April. The last installment is published this Friday 23rd August, rounding off the sensational year it was.

February 2024

The Rockhampton Jockey Club introduced horse tracking vision at Callaghan Park. The RJCs installed the Triple S Data GPS tracking system with a GPS tracker placed in the saddlecloth of each runner. The system allowed the horse’s field position to be displayed in SKY Racing vision, providing precise, real-time positioning for the audience to track horses progress. Other information extracted from the system included sectional times and overall times for each horse in every race.

The RJC awarded life membership to its oldest member Bruce McKenzie. RJC Chairman Rob Carr presented 95-year-old McKenzie who has been attending Callaghan Park races since the 1940s with his life membership badge. Mr. McKenzie was one of four members to receive life membership, The others were track regulars, Mrs. Maureen Olive, Val Beak, and Hannah Smith.

Uruguay jockey Raul Silvera Olivera left Rockhampton when his temporary visa expired. The jockey relocated to Malaysia where he applied for a new visa hoping local immigration authorities would grant him another opportunity to ride again in Rockhampton.

March 2024

Retired champion jockey Damien Oliver was named as the official ambassador for the 2024 “The Archer” to be raced at Callaghan Park in April. Oliver, who retired from riding in December 2023, accepted an invitation from the Central Queensland Amateur Race Club (Rocky Amateurs) for the club’s important ambassadorial role.

Jockey Warwick Satherley recorded his first Rockhampton quartet of winners at Callaghan Park. Satherley bagged his four winners riding Aleaco and Blue Kentucky Moon for Graeme Green, Valentino for Nick Walsh (and Doubting Eye for Jason Morgan Three of Satherley’s winners resulted in the first three races of the day.

Rockhampton six-year-old galloper Namazu posted a modern-day weight-carrying record when he lumped 68kg to victory in a freakish performance at Mackay’s Ooralea track. Ridden by Ash Butler in the Open Handicap (1300m) the Rocky Vale-trained gelding made light work of his huge steadier, winning by close to two lengths. Serious form students struggled to remember the last time a horse carried that weight and won so convincingly.

Clint Taylor’s brilliant mare won the Military Rose Plate (1100m) at the Gold Coast. On a sand-dressed track that copped plenty of criticism, Chinny Boom’s time for her pet distance was 1.01.66s. The mare broke the Aquis Park record by 0.08s, the fastest ever 1100 metres at a metropolitan meeting.

April 2024

Wet weather arrived for the Capricornia Yearling Sales and Race weekend. The RJCs two Capricornia Sales Races, the $168,000 2YO Classic and the $118,000 3 & 4 YO Classic were rescheduled a week later to a bumper 12-race Callaghan Park card after heavy rain turned the track into an unsuitable and unsafe racing surface on scheduled day. 109 yearlings went through the CYS sale ring at the Rockhampton Showgrounds with auctioneers Magic Millions finding most of them new homes. Both local and interstate buyers supported the sale with the top-price lot going to an Invader colt offered by KBL Thoroughbreds at Beaudesert on behalf of the breeders, Four Small Fish. The well-presented bay colt from the Spirit of Boom mare The Darling sparked spirited bidding. He was sold to Val Beak, Jeffery Schwarz, and Nick Walsh.

Local star Namazu trained by Ricky Vale and ridden by Ashley Butler showed a strong contingent of southern and local horses a clean pair of heels to lead all of the way in the $775,000 The Archer (1300m). The flagship race for the Rocky Amateurs, the WFA The Archer attracted a quality line-up of horses and jockeys, so much so that Namazu went off at odds of $16. But the classy Rocky horse didn’t know what price he was and Butler rode him like an odds-on favourite to win the big prize, defeating the Peter and Paul Snowden Lavish Empire (Josh Parr) by almost a length with Mishani Sniper (Les Ross/ Robbie Dolan) just under a length away in third place. The CQ Amateur Cup (1600m)  was won by the race favourite Devil Kick (Robbie Dolan). Trained in Rocky by Kerrod Smyth, Devil Kick beat Enuff He Said, and Fighting Commando.