Owners and breeders will be rewarded for their support of Victorian racing this Saturday with over $1.6 million in VOBIS prizemoney and bonuses on offer at Caulfield Racecourse.
The third annual Victorian Owners and Breeders Raceday will offer lucrative rewards for those who choose to buy, breed, own and race Victorian thoroughbreds, while showcasing the talent produced by the state’s burgeoning breeding industry.
Headlining Saturday’s race meeting is the inaugural $310,000 VOBIS Sires – a 1200m two-year-old race exclusively for VOBIS Gold-nominated horses that were sired in Victoria.
A capacity field of 16 plus two emergencies has been assembled for the Swear at Spendthrift Australia-sponsored race with horses acquired for as little as $12,000 in line to give their connections a handsome payday when the gates fly open at 2.35pm (AET).
Five rich VOBIS Gold Premier Races will also be conducted on the nine race card over distances ranging from 1200m to 2000m with each race offering between $180,000 and $280,000 in prizemoney and bonuses.
Great interest will centre upon the $280,000 IRT VOBIS Gold Mile (1600m, 4YO & Up) at 1.25pm where the Darren Weir-trained Burning Front will take his career earnings past the magical $1 million mark if successful – a second placing will see him land just $1,790 shy of the milestone.
Among those seeking to deny Burning Front the major prize will be the Leon and Troy-Corstens-trained Zebrinz who won the inaugural VOBIS Gold Mile in 2015 before finishing runner-up to Red Bomber in 2016.
Also chasing a second Victorian Owners & Breeders Raceday feature race success is 2016 VOBIS Gold Distaff (1400m, Fillies & Mares) winner Scarlet Billows who will be attempting to deny Miss Promiscuity back-to-back victories in the Newmarket Grand West VOBIS Gold Sprint (1200m), while Adirondack is chasing successive wins in the TROA VOBIS Gold Heath (2000m).
Racing commences at 12.15pm on Saturday with entry free for all Victorian Owners Gold Card holders and members of the public afforded free access to Connections – the exclusive owners’ pavilion – for the day.
Off the track, a selection of leading Victorian stallions will be paraded from 11.30am with racegoers able to cast an eye across former VOBIS Horse of the Year and now Swettenham Stud resident Trust in a Gust, along with Swear (Spendthrift Australia), Nostradamus (Rosemont Stud) and Lucas Cranach (Bullarook Park).
RV Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter, said, “The Victorian Owners and Breeders Raceday is a great celebration of participation in the Victorian racing industry and a meeting that continues to grow in both stature and prizemoney.
“We are enjoying exceptional participation levels in Victorian racing with the number of owners surpassing 60,000 this season and this raceday provides a wonderful opportunity to reward those owners who support Victoria and our VOBIS schemes.
“The Victorian breeding industry is also in a very healthy state at present with the quality of stallions residing here continuing to rise and great interest in Victorian-bred horses at the recent yearling sales including the State’s first $1 million yearling.
“We’re delighted to attract a capacity field for the inaugural VOBIS Sires two-year-old, a race exclusively for Victorian-sired horses which will increase to $1 million in prizemoney from 2019 when it reaches its maturity.
“The fields assembled for the five VOBIS Gold Premier Races are also terrific and we’re pleased to see a spread of trainers supporting the race meeting with South Australian and New South Wales-trained horses among the acceptors.”
The Victorian Owners & Breeders Raceday is held on the eve of the Inglis VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale which will see over 240 VOBIS-eligible yearlings go under the hammer from 10am on Sunday, 23 April at Inglis’ Oaklands Junction sales complex.
Click here to view the fields for the Victorian Owners & Breeders Raceday.
