Bathurst GOTY Match Race This Wednesday Night
A unique match race will take place at Kennerson Park Bathurst on Wednesday July 1 when 2008 Bathurst GOTY Bells Fair takes on his predecessor Flying Mitch who won the same award in 2007. The event will be run over 450 metres and will have full TAB and Sky coverage.
Given the contrasting racing patterns of the two local champs it promises to be fabulous spectacle. Bells Fair has brilliant early speed whilst Flying Mitch likes to storm home with a paralyzing finish.
Under match race conditions there is little question that Flying Mitch is best suited therefore he is the logical favourite although he wonât to let Bells Fair to get too much of a head start.
The versatile Flying Mitch has won twenty one races in all with seventeen of those victories coming on the Bathurst loam over four different distances, 307m, 450m, 520m and 618m. The Ashley Lamb prepared chaser has been a model of consistency at Kennerson Park over three seasons and despite entering the twilight of his career remains a force to be reckoned with.
A three time Wentworth Park winner Flying Mitch finished third behind Easter Egg winner Dana Beatrice in the Bathurst Gold Cup on March 18. Over the 450 metres Flying Mitch has had 22 starts for 9 wins and 8 placings and boasts a personal best time of a very slick 25.82.
The Mark Vella trained Bells Fair has been almost unbeatable at Bathurst since posting his initial success there on March 1, 2008. In the fifteen months since Bells Fair has racked up a remarkable 35 victories of which nineteen have been secured at Bathurst over the 307m and 450m trips.
Included amongst those is an outstanding 14 wins from 17 attempts over his pet distance of 307m where he is also the current track record holder at 17.47. Over 450 metres Bells Fair has 6 wins and 4 placings from 11 starts with a personal best time of 26.02. Earlier in 2009 he took out the prestigious Cannonball at Richmond whilst he was a finalist in the recent Tweed Heads Galaxy.
The match race will is scheduled as race 9 on the 11 race program and will go under starterâs orders at approximately 6.05pm and a $2,000 purse awaits the winner.
307m Qualifying Trials
Owners and trainers are reminded that maiden and fifth grade qualifying trials will be held over 307 metres at Bathurst on Sunday morning July 12, 2009. Nominations close with the club at 9.00am on Thursday July 9. Kennelling will be 9.00 to 9.30 am for a 10.00am start and a $10 trial fee applies.
The finals of both events will be staged on the TAB card on Wednesday July 22 and each carries standard TAB prizemoney of $750 (maiden) and $1,000 (Grade 5) to the winners plus a percentage of the trial fees which will is to be determined by the number of nominations received.