There were plenty of highlights from the 2025 Hanging Rock Cup meeting on Australia Day.
Minister for Racing, Anthony Carbines, made his first visit to see racing at ‘The Rock’.
“He was very supportive,” said Kyneton and Hanging Rock Racing Club president, Gary O’Meara.
The club was very pleased to have the minister and leading racing industry personnel present.
They included Racing Victoria chairman Tim Eddy, Country Racing Victoria vice-chairman Anthony Quigley and CEO Scott Whiteman, and Racing Victoria chief executive, Aaron Morrison.
Favourable weather conditions helped entice a large attendance, as did the eight-event program with plenty of runners.
CONLON, KELLY TREBLE
Former Kyneton trainer Tom Conlon now prepares a small team at Ballarat, and he had an unforgettable day.
Conlon saddled up three winners, Miss Terasita, Caboteur and Miss Toronado, and all were ridden by Alana Kelly.
A highly proficient rider, Kelly had actually ridden four winners on Saturday at the Great Western Cup meeting. Conlan trained one of these.
To ride seven winners in two days on country tracks is a remarkable feat, and the three at ‘The Rock’ all won comfortably.
Brett Stanley, another former local trainer with a close affinity with ‘The Rock’ , won with Elle McFearsomeme in a photo-finish.
His son, Jett, rode the winner to follow up his opening event victory aboard outsider Niggles.
ALL THE WAY IN CUP
The feature event was the $30,000 bet365 Hanging Rock Cup, over 1800m.
Last year’s Cup winner, Friday At Five, was sent out an odds-on favourite, with Bannerton and Flying Basil also well in the market.
Three scratchings reduced the field to seven runners.
Ridden by in-form Irish jockey Tom Madden, Flying Basil was never headed.
Neil Farley had Friday At Five running second, but his mount could not accelerate enough to run down Flying Basil in the straight.
Bannerton was well back in third place.
The winner is trained at Warrnambool by Shane Jackson, who had the seven-year-old at his peak.
It was Madden’s first time riding at ‘The Rock’, and he expects to return in the future.
This Saturday is Woodend Cup Day at the Kyneton racebourse — another feature day for the local club.
