The second annual running of the "COUGAR CUP" was held on the 8th May at the Clubhouse and it was by all accounts another great night, money raised went towards the Club and Borneo/Singapore. For those that didn't stay around missed out on a fantastic evening of fun.
Race 1-The PWB Handicap was won by "GAMMI HAMMI" Gammi Hammi was bought by Mark Heath and ridden by Mark Heath and paid $88 for the win Gammi Hammi although not a thouroughbred and carrying a little weight was up against some top class horses from the stables including: "White Pointer" owened by Jone Tuiono and ridden by Siggi Buba "The Dog Squad" owned by Matt Thompson and ridden by Matt Thompson "Pinapple Crush" owned by Drew Weaver and ridden by Danny Panapa "Brutal Bloke" owened by Ian Kennon and ridden by Bruce Kennon "Island Drum" owend by Sean Lawler and Ridden by Sean Lawler
Race 2-The Cricket & Football Shop Steeple Chase was won by "STRAY CAT"
Stray cat was bought by Margaret Buba and ridden by Ian Kennon and paid $80 for the win Stray Cat was a class Steeple Chase horse who showed top form in the lead up to this event and was up against some serious Steeple Chase horses including: "Lightning Fault" owned by Jodee Buba and ridden by Chris Thompson
"Musk Stick" owned by Josh Phillips and ridden by Jacob Lewis
"First Edition" owned by Mark Heath and ridden by John Chisholm
"Sea Jay" owned by John Chisholm and ridden by Carl Ormandy
"Knee Lee Gone" owned by Ian Kennon and ridden by Aaron Rudduck
Race 3-The All Hours Plumbing Classic was won by "SMOKIN' JOE"
Smokin' Joe was bought by Gail Thompson and ridden by Joseva Tuisuva and paid $98 for the win Smokin' Joe was always going to be a dark horse in this classic, his form leading up has been somewhat sparatic and subject to fetlock injury but was a suprise winner. Other stable horses included: "Arafura Flusher" owned by Jodee Buba and ridden by Damien Mahony
"One Dollar" owned by Josh Phillips and ridden by Voasa Naivalu
"Pedal Bin" owned by Trish Withers and ridden by Glenn Withers
"Dickie knee" owned by Donna Hofmeier and ridden by Zac Phillips
"Eye of the Cougar" owned by Sean Lawler and ridden by Robert Leal
Race 4-The Singapore Sling Sprint was won by "MUFFY"
Muffy was bought by Drew Weaver and ridden by Donna Hofmeier and paid $92 for the win Muffy is Filly up from the cold of Canberra, has had some time to adjust to the climate but is feeling the heat and looks to be heading back in the near future. Muffy was up agaist some class Mares and Fillies in this sprint: "The Chipmunk" owned by Mary Lawler and ridden by Gail Thompson
"Little Treasure" owned by Mark Heath and ridden by Kathryn Heath
"Black Beauty" owned by Rod Withers and ridden by Trish Withers
"Are U Right" owned by Chris Thompson and ridden by Karen Bennett
"The Matriarch" owned by Siggi Buba and ridden by Margaret Buba
Race 5-The Linetec Engineering "Magela Creek" Cup was won by "RIGHT ROYAL ROGER"
Right Royal Roger was bought by Natalie and ridden by Ben Cordier and paid $112 for the win Right Royal Roger is a stallion from the back blocks of the UK, originally just a galloper but found the sport of kings to be too good and wanted more participation.Right Royal Roger was up agaist some stiff stallions in this cup: "Mahara-Jah" owned by Jone Tuiono and ridden by Elijah Morrison
"One Hot Mama" owned by Drew Weaver and ridden by Fiona Weaver
"Well Hung" owned by Margaret Buba and ridden by Dan Murphy "Grog Monster" was scratched due to irregular swab reading
"Fat Turtle Dreaming" owned by Fiona Weaver and ridden by Drew Weaver Emergency- "Dynamic Mr T" owned by POM and ridden by Tyrone Gersch-Mizen
Race 6-The Monsoon Plate was won by "THE FLYING FIJIAN"
The Flying Fijian was bought by Chris Thompson and ridden by Manasa Tuisuva and paid $88 for the win The Flying Fijian is a young thouroughbred is from royalty Fiji bloodline and the youngerof another stable horse Smokin' Joe. The Flyer has also had some fetlock problems in the past few starts but is a true sprinter and hard to beat over any distance: Other stable horses to compete were: "Evil Roy Rules" owned by Mary Lawler and ridden by Gareth Atkinson
"Miller Man" owned by Damien Heath and ridden by Damien Heath
"Bubalicious" owned by Margaret Buba and ridden by Stephen Buba "Camshaft" was scratched due to being late to the starters gate
"Milky Bar Kid" owned by Chris Thompson and ridden by Josh Phillips Emergency- "Dark Shark" owned by Jone Tuiono and ridden by Jone Tuiono
Race 7-COUGAR CUP
The Cougar Cup saw the winners from the 6 card races take to the track for the last race of the evening in the 2 Mile Sprint. This was not a race for the faint hearthed and showed that a good steady sprinter will win over this distance.
Barrier1- Gammi Hammi
Barrier 2- Stray Cat
Barrier 3- Smokin Joe
Barrier 4- Muffy
Barrier 5- Right Royal Roger
Barrier 6- The Flying Fijian
As soon as the barriers gates were down Right Royal Roger was away to a flying start and looked to have too big a lead to draw back from, but it was the old "hare and the tortise" fable that was to be the difference over such a long distance. Gammi Hammi was proving to be a stayer at the distance with a healthy 6 body lengths behind the Right Royal Roger with 3/4 of a length still to go, but as the race progressed it was the filly Muffy who bolted from the middle of the pack to take the winners post by a nose over the in form Gammi Hammi who managed to just pip Right Royal Roger at the post to take out second place.
FINAL STANDINGS: (paid on 1st & 2nd only) 1st place MUFFY, and winner of the COUGAR CUP and winner of $195.30
2nd place Gammi Hammi with a second place cheque of $83.70
3rd place Right Royal Roger
4th place Stray Cat
5th place The Flying Fijian
6th place Smokin' Joe
A special thankyou to all those that made the night possible:
Margaret Buba & Kathryn Heath for organising the night + the food +bar+prizes+++
Siggi Buba for making the Race Course
Stephen Buba for being the Auctioneer
Matt Thompson for being the Racing Steward
Aaron Rudduck for being the On Course Bookmaker
Carrie Phillips for work in the kitchen
Trish Withers for making the Form Guide
Peter Wong for an outstanding effort with everything on the day!
To the Jabiru guys for participating in the night!
