WITH jumps racing expelled from all but one of the four metropolitan tracks in Victoria, Warrnambool's famed jumps carnival, which begins today, looms as the most significant held in Australia, reports The Age.It says: Long regarded as the home of jumps racing even when jumps racing was conducted at Flemington and Moonee Valley, Warrnambool is, like never before, the face of the sport. So much so that the future of jumps racing in this state hinges on what transpires in the six jumping events ov
WITH jumps racing expelled from all but one of the four metropolitan tracks in Victoria, Warrnambool's famed jumps carnival, which begins today, looms as the most significant held in Australia, reports The Age.
It says: Long regarded as the home of jumps racing even when jumps racing was conducted at Flemington and Moonee Valley, Warrnambool is, like never before, the face of the sport. So much so that the future of jumps racing in this state hinges on what transpires in the six jumping events over the next three days.
A clean sheet and the sport is taken off death-row and jumps enthusiasts can look to future years with some confidence. But if equine death again comes to Warrnambool, then the obvious consequence will be swift and final.
Jumps racing has been on a knife's edge for 12 months and this week is certain to be a defining moment in its long and rich history. The sport was suspended after the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool last year when 14 horses left the gates for the 5500-metre marathon and only eight completed the course.