All eyes were on Murray Bridge last Saturday for a mammoth 10-race card, with a crowd of around 3000 in attendance for the listed spring race day. For the first time in the club’s history, the Murray Bridge Gold Cup was held as a standalone Saturday race meeting.
Another historic first at Murray Bridge was the running of the inaugural Moorundi Classic. The Moorundi Classic is a new 2yo race over 900 meters. The trophy, a beautiful bespoke design, painted on a locally crafted boomerang made from Red River Gum was up for grabs. This trophy is a perpetual trophy and will be added to each year and continue the story of the Moorundi Classic. The winner of the 2023 Moorundi Classic was Karavas ridden by Jake Toeroek and trained by Richard & Chantelle Jolly.
Jacob Opperman claimed a riding double on the day with wins for Matthew Seyers and Searle Callanan Racing. Paul Gatt took the win in his first ride back in South Australia since November 2022 with a great ride aboard Portation for Sue & Jason Jaensch.
However Murray Bridge Cup Day belongs to Justin Potter who won Race 4 aboard Jaywick which was trained by his father, Bruce Potter, and started at the incredible price of $151. Justin then backed this up in the Cup aboard Jack The Lad winning the listed race for Wayne Francis & Glen Kent.
Fashion was at the forefront of the day’s events with sizeable fields of entrants in both adult categories. Spring colours were front and centre for Fashion at the Races. The standout in the Best Dressed Lady category was the amazing millinery on display from a number of the entrants. Thankfully, the typical Murray Bridge winds held off and ensured that the millinery on display was no at risk of flying off. The level of support and involvement that attendees had for this year’s Fashion at the Races competition was fantastic.
A day to celebrate, the 2023 Murray Bridge Gold Cup was a resounding success on and off the track. The countdown is already on until next year’s Gold Cup and for what excitement will be in store. Make sure you do not miss this day in 2024!
Check out some of the images from the day below…
