Instant Geelong hero
GEELONG scored a rare hometown win yesterday when Rosemont Farm’s Runaway ran away to a memorable Geelong Cup win.
Leading from start to finish, the four-year-old gelding with jockey Stephen Baster at the reins caused scenes of jubilation among its large contingent of Geelong connections, and was a popular winner for racegoers keen to see a local hope turn the tables on the international raiders who’ve dominated the race in recent years.
Rosemont’s Anthony Mithen and his brother-in-law Nigel Austin, founder of retail giant Cotton On, led the celebrations, surrounded by their family, friends and employees.
And with recent history as a form guide, the pair confirmed the prospect of a run at the Melbourne Cup was now under serious consideration.
“That (possibility) hasn’t sunk in yet,” Austin said.
“Let’s see how the dust settles, and how the horse is, but if we can get a Melbourne Cup start that would be incredible.”
The hometown win capped a great day for the Geelong Racing Club, which had poignantly promoted the event under the slogan “Our town, our Cup”.
GRC chief Daniel Salter said the club was hopeful it would record a “modern-day record” crowd of close to 13,000, and had also welcomed a $2.5 million funding win.
“It’s fantastic to have local connections win with Mitho and his team and Nigel Austin and his team. It’s a terrific result for them, and I’m sure they’ll party on long into the night,” Mr Salter said.
“I think we’ll record a crowd of 12,000 to 13,000 so it seems to be bigger than last year. Our corporate numbers were up and the weather’s been perfect, and everything has run really smoothly.”
Mr Salter said the funding confirmed on course by state Racing Minister Martin Pakula would be spent on improving and upgrading the race and training tracks at Breakwater.
“We’re going to increase the size of the course proper, and we’ll replace the synthetic track with a fibre-sand training track,” he explained.
As always, the Cup showcased a wide range of fashion trends and drew in its share of footy stars and minor celebrities.
Among the faces spotted in the crowd were past and present Geelong footballers, including Lily Mithen, Wylie Buzza, Cory Gregson, Billy Brownless, Tom Lonergan and 2011 premiership captain Cameron Ling.
Former Bomber and Dock- er Adam McPhee and currentday umpire David Rodan, who played for Richmond and Port Adelaide, also stood out, while former Socceroo goalkeeper Zeljko “Spider” Kalak also made an appearance.
Early reports from police at the track were also positive, with most racegoers on their best behaviour.
Geelong police Inspector Bruce Thomas confirmed two people were evicted during the event. One was kicked out for possessing drugs, the other for being intoxicated.
“We were pretty happy with the crowd behaviour; it deteriorated a little towards the end, but police and security have been on the ball,” Insp Thomas said.
He said booze buses and highway patrol units were monitoring traffic and breathtesting motorists at different locations.