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Mornington runners ready to race at Festival
Off and running: Mornington little athletes enjoy a day out at their current venue. Picture: Supplied
HUNDREDS of eager runners are set to head to Mornington Park for the annual Mornington Running Festival which kicks off on Sunday 23 September. The running festival will see runners race down the Esplanade in Mornington to as far as the Mount Martha village for events such as the 1km kid’s dash, the 5km and 10km fun runs/walks and the popular 21.1km half marathon. The starting and finishing points for
all events is located at Mornington Park, while the Esplanade will have the beachside-half of the road closed to all traffic to allow the runners to complete their single lap out-andback course. Four completion-based team challenges (Primary School, Secondary College/High School, Sporting Clubs, and Community/Corporate/Family/ Friends) will be run on the day, with the team with the highest aggregate points winning a clothing package
valued at $1,000. Trophies will also be awarded to the top three finishes for male and female in each category, except for the kid’s race, where each child competing will receive a medal and spot prizes throughout the day. The price to compete in each category varies. For more information on the Mornington Running Festival go to www.morningtonrunningfestival.com/. Ben Triandafillou
Out and about: Runners enjoy day out at the Mornington Running Festival in 2017. Picture: Supplied
Little Aths track gets underway CONSTRUCTION on the Mornington Little Athletics Centre’s new $2 million IAAF standard athletics track at Civic Reserve, Mornington has started to get underway. Civil work construction commenced a few weeks ago to level out the dirt and create an even surface for their new track to be built on, and the little athletes are on track to be competing on the new surface by October 2019. Mornington Little Aths president Todd Martin said that with a bit of luck, the club should be on the track by the start of their 2019/20 season. “We always thought it would be around that time next year with all the planning and construction which had to be done,” Martin said. “The federal government have pledged $2 million to Little Athletics and $1 million to the Mt Martha Soccer Club, and the council, out of this year’s budget, have also pledged about $3.5 million. So it’ll be a bit over $6 million which is being planned to be spent on the complex.” The upgraded Civic Reserve complex is planned to have four new soccer pitches as well as the new athletics track. Martin also said that a future pavilion has been in discussion over the past three to four months. “A new pavilion has been bought
up but it isn’t completely funded as of yet,” he said. “The planning on what is to be done with the pavilion has been done in consultation with us and the soccer club. We’ve landed on an idea on how it will look, but it’s likely to be a little while longer before construction begins on that depending on the financial support. “There’s no real definite time set on the new pavilion but I’d be assuming it’d be a couple years off at the moment.” Currently the Mornington Little Athletics Centre has been utilising the Mornington Secondary College as their temporary set-up since moving from their original venue at Mace Oval, Mt Martha just over a year and a half ago. Martin said having Mornington Secondary College as a venue has been a great help for the club. “It’s been good. The school has been very accommodating for us,” he said. “It’s given us a good opportunity to run on a 400m track instead of the 250m track that we had at Mace Oval. It doesn’t sound like a massive difference, but it does change the way that the program runs, and it has been a good experience to run around there in preparation for our move to Civic Reserve.” Ben Triandafillou
Written By ready and rearing for big return GRAHAME Begg’s boom colt, Written By, will have his final exhibition gallop at Mornington on Thursday 13 September before he makes a muchanticipated return to the races next Saturday. The dominant Blue Diamond winner is set to gallop between races at the Mornington meeting before he returns to Caulfield on Saturday 22 September as he tries to keep his unblemished record at the track intact. Despite bungling the start, the son of Written Tycoon has also won a trial at Sandown on Thursday 30 August, and trainer Grahame Begg believes his final gallop at Mornington will top him off nicely. “Just going to the races should stimulate him a bit more and get the juices flowing,” Begg said. “He won’t need another jump out. He’s only running over 1000m first up so it should be sufficient enough for him.
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Mornington News
“By the time he returns he would have had three trips away and that’ll be plenty for him. He’ll certainly be sharp enough [for the 1000m].” The form around Written By’s two-year-old season is also filling Begg with a bit of confidence heading forward, with several runners coming back and franking the form in their three-year-old season. Most notably, the Darren Weirtrained Native Soldier finished two-lengths behind Written By in the Blue Diamond Prelude and has since been an emphatic three-length winner of the Group Three H.D.F McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday 1 September. The Tony McEvoy-trained filly Sunlight, who finished less than a length in front of Written By in the Group One Golden Slipper, has also come back and been a strong winner of the Group Three Quezette Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday 18 August.
11 September 2018
“Lots of other horses have won and run well, and it’s the same with this coming Saturday (8 September),” Begg said. “There’s a lot coming back that have run against him in Melbourne and Sydney so we’ll keep a close eye on that form.” Following his exhibition gallop, Written By is set to return in a 1000m set weights and penalties race at Caulfield before being aimed at the $350,000 Blue Sapphire (1200m) at Caulfield in October. Begg said the plan is to head thirdup into the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup carnival. While the Coolmore Stud Stakes is Written By’s main aim for the spring, Begg also said the Group One Darley Classic (1200m) in November could be on the cards but would be highly dependent on how Written By pulls up after each run. Ben Triandafillou
Colt hero: Written By wins the Group One Blue Diamond Stakes for Grahame Begg. Picture: Supplied