Wauchope Jockey Club has named the feature race in honour of the late Ged Roods at its five-race meeting at the club's Beechwood Road track on Saturday (October 17).
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The respected former president of the Wauchope Rugby League Club will have his name attached to the Hastings Hotel Cup at a meeting celebrating the Old Boys of League.
The meeting has rare significance as it is on the day of the world's richest race, the $15 million The TAB Everest, at Royal Randwick in Sydney.
Punters will be catered for on-course with the Sydney races beamed live to the track.
The president of the Wauchope Jockey Club, Greg Partridge,said Covid 19 protocols will be in place for the expected good crowd.
"We urge patrons to book a table with the club while others will have to sign in.
"Special areas have been set aside and there is plenty of room for patrons to enjoy not only local racing but also interstate racing."
The meeting will be a dress rehearsal for the club's biggest meeting of the year-the Boxing Day meeting featuring the legendary Woop Woop Cup.
Last year's Woop Woop Cup winner, Port Macquarie's Dangerous Dan, showed he is working up to another cup tilt for trainer Matthew McCudden with a win over 2000m at Port on Saturday.
Saturday's meeting also pays tribute to the work done by the Wauchope-Bonny Hills Surf Life Saving Club.
Acceptances for the meeting will not be known until Thursday but the club is expecting good patronage from the usual loyal trainers.
Manning Valley Race Club has a TAB meeting on Friday and the club is hoping some of the trainers of horses engaged at that meeting will bring gallopers suited to the Wauchope venue.
Not only do local businesses support the meeting with sponsorship but Wauchope trainers Michael O'Neill and leading MNCRA trainer Colt Prosser also have runners.
O'Neill has indicated he will have two gallopers at the meeting in seven-year-old gelding Wolfram and six-year-old mare Khorloo.
He was hoping to get Port jockey Jeff Kehoe to guide them home.
They combined to have six-year-old gelding Random Factor run a good race for fifth first-up from a spell at odds of $101 at Port on Saturday.
Wolfram has won two races and been placed another 11 times for prizemoney of $69,000 and was sixth in a strong race at Port last Friday.
It was second at the Wauchope track last year and on August 29 was also second at Port over 1208m.
Khorloo was run off its leg in Dangerous Dan's 2000m race at Port on Saturday and has a win and a second to its name in 28 starts.
O'Neill said he was looking forward to the meeting and hopes for good runs in their ideal form races.
"The horses need this type of grade to perform well and as far as Wolfram is concerned he hasn't been beaten far of late,"he said.
Both his gallopers, leased from Meringo Stud, work out on his farm at Long Flat and enjoy the country environment.
Prosser nearly had a win with first-starter Potta at Port on Saturday.
It was beaten just under two lengths into third for Wauchope jockey Belinda Hodder and was paying $31.
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