NEW South Wales has the Everest and Ballarat has the Hotham.<\/p>\n
No two races could be further apart in prizemoney, class or ability, but with the second running of the Hotham, the enthusiasm for the race is starting to build with owners all over Australia.<\/p>\n
The Everest boasts $10m purse and Group 1 status whereas the Hotham is a maiden\u2019s maiden for, as one punter pointed out, \u201cHorses that can\u2019t get out of their own way.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday at the Ballarat Turf Club the second running of the Hotham was designed to give one horse at least one win in their career.<\/p>\n
Offering overall prizemoney of $70,000, with a first 1st prize $30,000 and a trophy that came with bragging rights.<\/p>\n
This year the search was on by a small syndicate with a sense of humour to find a horse with the right credentials – one that hadn\u2019t won a race. It meant the group could have another tilt at the Hotham, having run out of a place in the race last year, and as leader of the group, Ashlee Hobbs said, \u201cMake amends.\u201d<\/p>\n
And they did, with Henry\u2019s Affair taking out the second Hotham Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we had the right horse in the right slow race,\u201d Ms Hobbs said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was on the internet every day looking up horses for sale that might suit this race. We found him through Bloodstock Auctions on the net in Queensland, when we finally settle on Henry\u2019s Affair, we bought him and we arranged to have the horse shipped to Swan Hill to be trained up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan Hobson, Ashlee\u2019s brother, trained the five-year old gelding to perfection and the horse looked a treat on the day and performed accordingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no pressure in the race and no hype amongst the jockeys we thought it was just another round. It is great to have such a race as this for the owners, because they love their horses and they keep them going for as long as they can, these horses ordinarily can\u2019t win a race but they are always knocking on the door,\u201d jockey Chelsea MacFarlane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing up the straight he started to stop, I had to work hard to keep urging him on, I was so glad that he kept going in the end, he did a real good job to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how this race is summed up, slow horses that owners love and like to keep racing, it isn\u2019t the Everest or anything like it.<\/p>\n
Yet the Ballarat Hotham is gaining momentum and could well headline the race card at the next year\u2019s meeting and draw a large crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW South Wales has the Everest and Ballarat has the Hotham. No two races could be further apart in prizemoney, class or ability, but with the second running of the Hotham, the enthusiasm for the race is starting to build with owners all over Australia. The Everest boasts $10m purse and Group 1 status whereas […]<\/p>\n