By Perditta O'Connor
Stanthorpe Cup was a day of records at Armstrong Park on Saturday.
A record crowd witnessed Warwick galloper Culpa Di Mauro’s win in the 2021 Stanthorpe Cup in record time.
Punters and patrons swarmed through the gates when they opened at 11 am and the crowd swelled to a record in excess of 2000 people.
Crisps Coaches were kept busy ferrying patrons to the course until well into the afternoon.
Stanthorpe Jockey Club President Neil “Chips” Brunckhorst said it was, without doubt, a record crowd with bookings for reserved seating exceeding 700 and 315 visitors sitting down for lunch.
Mr. Brunckhorst praised his committee who are all volunteers for their work to ensure the racecourse and surrounds were in pristine condition for the meeting.
An additional concreted and covered area was only completed on Tuesday morning with tradesmen racing to get the roof finished before the predicted rain and storms set in.
The new area proved popular with patrons, sponsors and guests.
The Stanthorpe Cup field was one of the smaller fields of the day but provided an exciting finish as the horses topped the rise and thundered down the straight.
Eventual winner Colpo Di Tamburo finished strongly down the centre of the track to nail the win in a race record time of 1:10.37.
Trained by Leo Roche in Warwick, the seven-year-old who ran an eye-catching third in last weekend’s Warwick Cup was well ridden by apprentice jockey Emma MacPherson.
Off the track, there was plenty of interest in the Fashions on the Field Competition and with a high standard of race day fashion, the judges had their work cut.
Brisbane visitor Emma Caldwell in a delightful pink and blue outfit looked on point, perfect for a Spring Race meeting, and was the winner of the Classic Racewear section.
Runner up was Mariel Thompson of Stanthorpe.
Another Brisbane visitor, Lauren Andreassen in a striking emerald green outfit, won the Contemporary Racewear Category.
The runner up Amanda Warr of Stanthorpe
One of the social highlights of the day was the official introduction and presentation of the eight 2022 Apple and Grape Ambassadors.
After the running of the final race, the music kicked in with many racegoers ignoring the drop in the temperature and staying on until late.
After the cancellation of last year’s Cup meeting due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the committee was delighted with the success of the annual race day which has become the premier social event on the Stanthorpe calendar.
Club President Chips Brunckhorst praised the behaviour of the big crowd and said the support for the meeting this year had been overwhelming.
“There was a large contingent of visitors, a lot of them from Brisbane and the Sunshine and Gold Coast; but it is just really great to see so many local people out here enjoying the day.”
