KEY POINTS:
The 2007 Gallop South Racing Festival looks destined to break from the barriers in style at the weekend at Gore. Eleven races are carded with the feature, the listed $45,000 Liquorland Gore Guineas (1355m) attracting a quality, capacity 14-horse field.
Triplebank, trained by Vanessa and Wayne Hillis, is likely to start favourite for the Guineas after a last start win at Manawatu. A major challenge is likely from Soul Reason who is trained by Lorraine and Howie Mathews.
Both sets of trainers are aiming to land the $100,000 bonus that will be paid to the connections of a horse that can win the Gore Guineas, the $50,000 Dunedin Guineas and the $45,000 Southland Guineas.
Hobes, who is trained by Gore course caretaker and former club president Neville Patterson, leads the weights for the $16,000 Gore Cup. The 8-year-old gelding is in second place in the 123 Racing Summer Cup Series behind First Wind. The series takes in all the open staying events in Otago and Southland. Crowd favourite Hobes has been a revelation this season winning the Speights Dunedin Club Trophy on Melbourne Cup day, the Winton Cup and the inaugural Queenstown Cup at Cromwell.
Guineas Day is the first of the four days of the Gallop South Racing Festival which moves onto the Premier Licence at Wingatui on February 10, Gold Cup day at Ascot Park on February 24 and finishes at Cromwell on March 4.
The festival is part of a concerted effort to lift the profile of racing in the last three racing seasons.
