Finalists named for Victorian Country Racehorse of the Year awards

Five horses will be vying for the final three spots available to be named the Victorian Country Racehorse of the Year.  The nominations are;  Banana Man (Desert King), De Mars (Grass Wonder), Majestical (Montjeu), Macau Causeway (Giant’s Causeway) and Key Symbol (Fraar).

The winner will be announced at the Country Racing Victoria Awards 2009 ceremony at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Saturday 22 August.

All five horses won at least one Country Cup in the 2008-09 racing season, with votes to be tallied to determine the final three nominations and subsequent winner.  The winner is determined by the horse’s record on Victorian country racecourses in the 2008-09 season.

BANANA MAN is trained by Michael Kent at Cranbourne and he had five starts on Victorian country tracks winning the Listed Bendigo Cup before returning to add the Colac Cup and Listed Mornington Cup.

DE MARS, who is based at Gunbower, won the Hanging Rock, Woodend and Mildura Cups.  He also finished in the placings at Swan Hill and Ararat from his nine country starts.

MAJESTICAL took time to mature but the Bendigo gelding was rewarded with feature wins in the Bendigo Golden Mile and Listed Cranbourne Cup in 2008-09.

MACAU CAUSEWAY is owned by Deborah Ho in NZ and she followed her gelding from across the Tasman as he won the Horsham and Terang Cups this season.  He was also runner-up in the Kyneton and Ararat cups.

KEY SYMBOL completes the list of nominations.  He is part-owned and trained by Bill and Symon Wilde at Warrnambool and won the Coleraine, Mortlake and Dunkeld Cups.  He also finished second in the Sheep Hills Cup and third in the Avoca Cup.

Country Racing Victoria Chief Executive Officer Scott Whiteman congratulated connections of the five horses nominated for the Victorian Country Racehorse of the Year Award.

“Every year we have a wealth of stellar performances to choose from as more and more people discover the riches on offer at Victorian country race meetings,” Whiteman said.  “You only have to look at some of the quality racehorses that didn’t make the final five to grasp the competitiveness in country races.”

The final three will be announced in early August, with the winner declared at the Country Racing Victoria Awards. For tickets to the Country Racing Victoria Awards 2009 phone CustomerFirst on 1300 139 402.