Racing group hit track at a gallop to raise funds

Former champion jockey Lance O'Sullivan and racing administrators Simon Cooper, Andre Klein and Jason Fleming are on course to run around the racetracks at Dargaville and Ruakaka this week.

The quartet began their run of the country's 51 licensed galloping tracks on Easter Monday, at the Gore racecourse as part of a six- day fundraising tour for The CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust.

The public are invited to join the group for each run and donations can be made at all tracks. The runners are expected at the Dargaville track on Friday about 6.20pm.

A spokesman for the Dargaville Racing Club said it will also collect donations for the trust at its autumn meeting on April 20.

The run at Ruakaka will take place on Saturday at 7.30am. Joining the four racing representatives will be three former Northland rugby players, David Holwell, Justin Collins and Hayden Taylor.

Ruakaka trainer Donna Logan said the club invites the general public to show "Northland's support" for the cause.

A sausage sizzle will be on offer along with CatWalk's socks and the chance to win a night's luxury accommodation at Queenstown by guessing how long it took the runners to complete the run of the 51 racetracks.

The trust is committed to raising funds to support the body of scientific opinion which says a cure for spinal cord injury will be found.

"This is a very good cause," said O'Sullivan.

"A lot of New Zealanders have been affected [by spinal injuries] over the years," he said.

Many jockeys and trackwork riders are among those who have suffered spinal injuries.