EQUINE VET JOHN BOWERS IS A REGULAR AT MORNINGTON RACECOURSE, BUT MOSTLY WHEN THE CROWDS ARE GONE AND THE TRACK IS BEING USED TO EXERCISE HOPEFUL STARTERS.
THIS VET'S ON TRACK By Keith Platt
T
he deep rumble turns into a crescendo of racing hooves as the horses hit the straight and gallop to the finish line. Jockeys and horses move as one, spurred on by the roar of the crowd.
would be one of the largest industries on the Mornington Peninsula. But the way the industry is structured allows for small stables, with maybe just one or two horses, to compete alongside businesses with dozens of race contenders.
Betting slips are either kissed or thrown in the air in despair as the winners are announced.
Each race has only one winner, and the aim of all trainers is the same - to get that horse across the line first.
A day at the races is a colourful, choreographed spectacle that involves drama, despair and good fortune.
Just because a horse is reared like a racehorse doesn’t mean it’s a winner. And if it is, it won’t be all the time, or forever.
In stark contrast, most days at Mornington Racecourse begin quietly. Horses and riders emerge from the gloom onto the tracks for training.
Like most big industries, racing has a powerhouse behind it; innumerable people contribute to that one special day when colour and glitz hide the dramas unfolding on the course and in the stands.
Horses are ridden into the racecourse from nearby farms and stables or arrive inside horse trailers. There are no colourful silks for the jockeys and mostly it’s the steely eyes of trainers watching the steeds under their care, looking for signs that can signal greatness or lay the seeds of doubt, no matter what the breeding books indicate. Horseracing, if its disparate parts could be brought together,
E ssence
20 | PENINSULA
March 2017
Race days are relatively few and far between - 14 in a year at Mornington - but that doesn’t mean there’s no daily action at the course. One day after the race crowds have gone and the grounds have been tidied and turf replaced, the horses are back. Carefully nurtured and transported by a retinue of attendants