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ABOUT
ilovebrokenhill.com , was first published on 8 December 2011 by Jane Deany. My blog is all about the famous outback Australian National Heritage Listed City named Broken Hill, located in the state of New South Wales. I first visited #BrokenHill in 2002 and have returned many times since then. ilovebrokenhill.com will help you discover what's great about this historic mining city, where in the mid 1880's the line of lode, a rich ore body of silver, lead and zinc was found. You will find stories about anything related to Broken Hill.

Sunday, 18 March 2012

The St Patrick's Day Races at Broken Hill 17 March 2012

Races
March 17, 2012 dawned and it was off to the St Patrick’s day races in Broken Hill with my old friend Melissa.  The biggest event of the year in the city brought out a lot of green, but surprisingly, there weren’t many green dresses to be seen at the track.  No matter, Melissa and I proudly wore our green dresses and enjoyed a wonderful day.

I bet on races 3 to 7 (there were 8 races in all) and had several wins including three firsts, the 1,400 metre race 4 with #1 ‘Dealers’, trained by local trainer Michael Wayman, and ridden by Wayne Kerford, the 1,600 metre race 5 with # 1 ‘My Ex Mate’ trained by Peter F Blanch of Morphettville (SA), and ridden by Shayne Cahill and race 7, the outback stayers 2,200 metres race, won by #1 (again) ‘Young Tearaway’ trained by Nicole Bruggemann of Strathalbyn (SA) and ridden by Elly Brooks.  Number 8 Lotto Blues, trained by Kym Healy of Strathalbyn, won the 1,600 metre race 6 Outback Cup, the jockey was Tara O'Donnell.  I unfortunately didn't pick that one.

Melissa and myself at the
St Patrick's Race Club
I thoroughly recommend putting this on your list of things to do, especially if you like the races, but even if you don’t.  There was a real carnival atmosphere, so many people made a wonderful effort with what they wore.  The weather was sunny, mild and breezy, just as well as the event was cancelled last year due to rain.

As mentioned in an earlier post it’s the first time the event has actually been run on St Patrick’s Day - March 17.  Apparently the scheduling has always had something to do with Easter.  We had a quick refreshing coffee at the Broken Earth Café restaurant which not surprisingly was fully booked out for dinner.  It’s a great spot to take in the view across the city and hills in the distance.  I showed Melissa the moving Miners’ Memorial, which I’ll talk about another time.  It was then off to dinner at Café Alfresco where we watched the passing parade of race goers and enjoyed a lovely dinner.  We popped in to the atmospheric Broken Hill Musician's Club (Muso Club) for a look around, some refreshments and a dance, then called it a night.  What a great fun day it was.

Cheers Jane D

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