Geraldton proves a hot ticket

It was a day of hot racing at Geraldton last weekend.

So hot in fact, that if it had been any hotter, there probably wouldn’t have been any races.

The saviour was a gentle and cooling breeze.

It didn’t arrive in Perth, so there were no city races, Geraldton having the only race meeting in the State, which put the local turf club in the spotlight.

“We came under the national stage,” Geraldton Turf Club manager David Wrensted said.

“We thought (off-course) turnover may have been bigger but we were happy to get through the day.”

The first of seven races at Geraldton didn’t start until 3.39pm — an hour and five minutes after the original scheduled starting time.

“It was probably a little late (starting time) for us to make the most of it,” Mr Wrensted said.

It was a battle of the ladies — humans and horses — to start the program, where there was a hit, but two misses. Bandalera Miss (Shelby Bowtell) just held out Miss Ditchburn, piloted by Simone Altieri.

But it was Wild Memories who put on the biggest performance, the mare going a little wild and showing her stuff in the stalls after having a hosedown.

The next meeting at Geraldton is the annual Walkaway Cup on Friday, December 27.