The last of the international horses has departed the TAB International Horse Centre at Werribee and the focus of the Werribee Racing Club (WRC) has switched to its forthcoming Cup Day which returns to a pre-Christmas timeslot.WRC manager Ross Kendell said the Club was are gearing up for the day, which includes the Listed $120,000 TAB Werribee Cup (2600m), held Sunday, December 16.Over the spring, Kendell and track manager Paul Downes have overseen a total of 22 international horses and their ha
The last of the international horses has departed the TAB International Horse Centre at Werribee and the focus of the Werribee Racing Club (WRC) has switched to its forthcoming Cup Day which returns to a pre-Christmas timeslot.
WRC manager Ross Kendell said the Club was are gearing up for the day, which includes the Listed $120,000 TAB Werribee Cup (2600m), held Sunday, December 16.
Over the spring, Kendell and track manager Paul Downes have overseen a total of 22 international horses and their handlers, in what was the biggest influx yet of overseas raiders.
While he has not yet had a chance to catch his breath, Kendell says he is eagerly looking forward to the Cup which is being sponsored by TAB for the first time.
''We missed out on the Melbourne Cup winner for the first time since the quarantine centre opened but it has been fantastic having all the internationals here at Werribee,'' Kendell said.
''However it is also a relief that they have now all headed off so we can put all our efforts into the TAB Werribee Cup meeting,''
Last season the Werribee Cup was held on the Labour Day long weekend but a change of dates means there will be two 2012 Cups and Kendell is confident that the move will be highly successful.
Kendell said it had been difficult to promote the Cup in recent years after it lost its permanent date just prior to the Melbourne Cup but the new pre-Christmas timeslot had the potential to be built into something really big for the Werribee community.
''The Werribee Cup used to be a real focus for the local people when it was run in October and while it has dropped off the radar a bit since we started racing here again I think we have the potential now to really turn it into a significant event.''
''The January date just didn't suit. It was the day before the schools went back and was lost on the local calendar to some degree but even so, we still got around 4,000 people there on a very hot day.''
''With the new date we can turn it into a real Christmas themed event with lots of local businesses and families getting along to enjoy Christmas functions and get-togethers.''
Kendell said the main dining room is already booked out, and there had been sizeable increases in bookings for the corporate marquees and the mini marquee sales are up six-fold on the Cup held earlier in the year.
Kendell is also optimistic that the new date will help attract a better quality field to the Cup.
''Coming back to mid-December, at the end of the Spring Racing Carnival, means there will still be a pool of quality stayers in work and it should ensure a stronger field than we have had in the last two years.''
Another positive in attracting quality horses is the surface of the Werribee track which is now regarded as one of the best in the state.
The connections of the international horses were lavish in their praise for how the track was presented and Kendell said there had been plenty of positive feedback from trainers of horses participating in jump outs at the course this morning.
''It took a while for the track to consolidate and get the kikuyu grass growing but everything is spot on now.''
''We've had most of the big trainers here this morning for jump outs and everyone I've spoken to has given it the thumbs up.'' (racingvictoria.net.au)