28 June 2019 | Albion Park Harness Racing Club Media
Labelled as one of the best pacers to come out of Queensland, Wondai’s Mate ended his racing career with the remarkable record of 121 starts for 73 wins, 34 placings and $456,536 in prizemoney.
Albion Park is pleased to honour this great pacer with tomorrow night’s running of the 2019 Egmont Park Stud Wondai’s Mate Open Pace.
Dominating throughout the 1980’s, Wondai’s Mate was trained by Merv Reinke on his 320-acre peanut and corn farm at Wondai, 165 miles north-west of Brisbane. He had his first race start in January 1981 with a win at Albion Park.
He travelled far and wide and set numerous records during his illustrious career, including becoming the first Queenslander to win an Inter Dominion heat – which he achieved at Alexandra Park in 1983. Wondai’s Mate won two qualifiers during the Championship before copping a severe check in the Final forcing his driver Darryl Reinke to be tipped out. The race was won by Gammalite.
Wondai’s Mate won many feature races at Albion Park including the Craven Filter Championship in 1984 and 1986 as well as the 1986 Sunshine Sprint and Winter Cup (now known as the TAB Blacks A Fake). He was also the first from the Sunshine State to win a leg of the Australian Grand Circuit, with his success in the Queensland Championship – known at the time as the Sir Clive Uhr Championship – in 1986.
Wondai’s Mate had a total of 43 victories at Albion Park and was later inducted into the Queensland Harness Racing Hall of Fame, so it’s no surprise that Albion Park willingly honours the champ with a Winter Carnival lead up feature race tomorrow night (Saturday).
The Egmont Park Stud Wondai’s Mate Open showcases some very capable types and the standout looks to be Colt Thirty One with his recent form including a victory in the Mr Feelgood Open on 15 June. Many visiting trainer/drivers are contesting the program including New Zealand duo Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen with talented 3yo pacers and likely TAB Queensland Derby competitors, Jessie Duke NZ and Self Assured NZ.
Wagering service provider TAB has a number of attractive exotic betting propositions for this Saturday night’s meeting spearheaded by a $25,000 First 4 Jackpot on race 1 scheduled for 4:47pm EST.
This is complimented by a $2,500 Quadrella Jackpot on races 2 to 5 and $2,000 Trifecta Jackpots on races 3, 4 and 5.
To view the fields and form analysis refer to http://www.harness.org.au/racing/fields/race-fields/?mc=AP290619
The opening race gets underway at 4.47pm EST while The Egmont Park Stud Wondai’s Mate Open is race 6 at 7.07pm.
The three main nights of the 2019 Winter Carnival are 6th, 13th and 20th July with the final night highlighting a Grand Circuit Event the TAB Blacks A Fake. The Silks Trackside Marquee is open for the three nights offering their famous seafood buffet – visit http://aphrc.com.au/index.php/events1 for more information or phone the Club on 07 3262 2577.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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