Rain fails to dampen country spirit

It’s three days on, but longtime country Victorian harness racing identity John Campbell is still shaking his head at how the Boort Trotting Club managed to get its nine-race Cup meeting completed last Sunday (March 1).

“I’ve got to be honest and say that every time we got through a race during the afternoon, we all thought ‘that might be the last one’ and the meeting would be called off,” Campbell said.

Like much of Victoria, the town copped a deluge – 40 millimetres of rain across two days – in the lead-up, and with steady rain still falling throughout the afternoon, conditions were testing to say the least.

But for a club that races just once each season, there was never any real thought of conceding without a fight.

“We were constantly looking at the skies above that’s for sure! But we got through. It was amazing – everyone pulled together, all the horse people, administration, HRV stewards, our track maintenance people, volunteers and everyone else,” Campbell said.

“We only have one meeting each season and a lot of work goes into it so there’s no denying we were desperate to see it go on.”

Campbell said a little over 27mm of rain was recorded on the Saturday and then about 13mm during the races on Sunday.

“We had a guy on a tractor and bucket who was kept busy dumping sand where it was needed – as well as pulling out those who got bogged in their cars!” he said.

“Thankfully the rain eased after the opening event. The stewards were great in checking the track conditions and talking with competing drivers all day.”

Central to the club’s ability to withstand the deluge was recent work on the surface.

“One of our trackmen Stuart Coutts re-built the track about a month ago with three inches of grey material on the surface. He wanted to use the best stuff and teed it up, so he was ready – he must have known something!” Campbell said.

“Stuart’s great grandfather was the first chairman of Boort, which began racing in 1891, making it the oldest continuous Victorian club.”

The sense of history runs deep at Boort – and so too does Campbell’s own association with the sport. He has been a studmaster, breeder, owner, trainer and administrator.

Back in 1972, he and his wife Kay moved into the family property known as the Loddon Valley stud, near Boort, with John taking over from his father Jack as studmaster. The stud later relocated to Lockwood.

As well as being a longtime Boort committee member, Campbell held the role of chairman for 18 years and remains one of the club’s guiding hands.

Sunday’s Cup meeting also drew strong support from across the industry and community, with HRV Chairman Bernard Saundry attending, along with board member Dennis Bice.  Mayor Dan Straub attended, as well as the Loddon our Cup sponsor, the Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh.  Well-known breeder Duncan McPherson, of Aldebaran Park, also chipped in with two service vouchers on the day.

Behind the scenes, the club’s band of around 30 volunteers played their part – from trackside duties to helping patrons navigate the mud.

And even ‘fashions on the field’ went ahead, albeit indoors, with harness racing media identity Paul Campbell doing an “awesome job” as compere – although he showed a little less finesse in the car park, bogging his car in the wet conditions.

“More than 100 people booked in for the lunch in the Sports Bar, which we promote as the best Sports Bar and best verandah in the north,” Campbell said.

“Everyone was earnest in keeping the meeting going and at the end of the day many stayed back to help clean up – but I have to admit it was more a sense of relief than sitting around celebrating!”

by Terry Gange for Harnesslink