Twenty-one years, two months and 11 days – come Sunday afternoon, that’s how long it will have been since Orange trainer Joe Curran turned out a runner at his home track of Towac Park, that being Jester Kiss on October 20, 1997.
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She ran third that day before retiring, so it’s been even longer since Curran trained a winner there, in fact Racing NSW’s online records don’t stretch back far enough to reveal when one of his charges last saluted at the Orange track.
But, after returning to the training game in January after a 19-year hiatus, Curran’s five-year-old mare Concours will at least break the former drought and potentially the latter too, when she turns out in Racing Orange’s Kennards Hire Family Fun Day.
Dubbo trainers Kody Nestor and Darren Hyde will also feature, with Nestor hoping to continue his winning combination with hoop Anthony Cavallo.
Cavallo will be aboard recent Dubbo winner Miss Music in race seven, the $22,000 Central West Trailers Class 3 Handicap (1280 metres), from barrier two, while Hyde’s Westlink will jump from barrier eight.
Curran’s muscular mare is a dual-acceptor on Sunday but will also run in the last of the seven-race program, and in her last start at Mudgee she actually became Curran’s first winner since Wiggly Woo at Randwick in 1997.
“It has been a long time (since having a runner at Orange) … 19-odd years between winners too, although it didn’t feel like that long,” Curran said, explaining it was simply his “love of racing” that lured him back to the training game.
“Training was always something I wanted to come back to and I’m lucky enough now to be in a position to do so. It’s still a bit of a hobby, we’ve only got a few in work at the moment, but it’s been really great so far.
“[Concours] has plenty of ability. She’s only had two starts for a third on debut and then her win at Mudgee, so her record’s good to date and we’re hoping to improve on that here at Orange.”
Concours – which was bred at Victoria’s Gilgai Farm, the same nursery that produced Black Caviar – will jump from barrier five in the seventh with Mathew Cahill on board, the celebrated country hoop having steered her Mudgee victory too.
That win came over 1200 but she clearly wanted a longer trip considering the way she hit the line, with Curran saying Sunday’s run is another step on her way up to around 1600.
“She should be able to run the mile, I think,” he said.
“We’re running her in the 1280 (on Sunday) and then we’ll step up to 1400 next start after that I think, she looked like she wanted more in that Mudgee win.”
Naturally, as soon as that 1400-metre distance is mentioned the Country Championship immediately comes to mind and Curran did admit it will always be an option.
“Every trainer out here looks towards that, absolutely,” he said.
“She has a long way to go though, she’ll have to win a few more races firstly to get her benchmark right up but it’s definitely a race in mind, if she holds form and keeps improving.”
Concours actually beat Alison Smith’s Supreme Gem in that Mudgee win, which saluted in its last start as well, breaking her maiden at Orange on December 17.
Supreme Gem is expected to start as favourite in the fifth – the Spanline Class 1 Handicap (1400m) – on Sunday, while Curran has accepted with Concours there too the pair aren’t expected to be pitted against one another again.
Fellow Orange trainers Lee Van Den Bos and Sonja Sharp both have one chance on Sunday as well, while Michael Plummer has accepted with five, including last-start winner In Too Deep.
Racing starts at Towac Park at 1.55pm, gates open at noon with adult tickets just $10 while kids get in for free.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
