News Article

Magical Moonee Valley Send-Off

06 February 2010

Some of the big crowd that turned out for Saturday night's Farewell to the Valley meeting

Some of the big crowd that turned out for Saturday night's Farewell to the Valley meeting

A massive crowd tonight converged on Moonee Valley to give the now former home of Victorian harness racing an appropriate send-off.

More than 15,000 people attended the final meeting ever run at the venue that first hosted harness racing on October 30, 1976 and were treated to one of the best night’s racing the track has seen in years.
Kiwi raider Bondy joined the greats of Australasian harness racing when he led all of the way to win the night’s feature event, the $400,000 Group 1 BIG6 Hunter Cup.
Sundons Gift became only the second horse to win Australasian trotting’s premier series in consecutive years when he took out the $250,000 Group 1 SEW-Eurodrive Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Final.
Courage To Rule played his part in a stellar night for the Kiwis when he joined the honour roll of Australia’s oldest pacing classic with an upset win in the $200,000 Group 1 Alabar Victoria Derby.
Harness Racing Victoria chief executive John Anderson said the night exceeded all expectations.
“We couldn’t have said goodbye to Moonee Valley in any better fashion than what we did tonight,” a proud Anderson said.
“We got what we believe to be the biggest crowd in more than a decade and those that did attend really got behind what was a sensational night’s racing.
“Moonee Valley occupies a special place in the history of Australian harness racing and I think we gave it the send-off it deserves.”
The Jenny Johnson-trained Strident etched his name into the record books with victory in the BIG6 Country Clubs Championship Final – the final harness meeting ever run at the Moonee Pond circuit.
Fittingly, he was steered by the man who won more races than any other at Moonee Valley, champion Melton reinsman Gavin Lang. Strident’s win was Lang’s 1029th at the track.
Tabcorp Park at Melton is now the home of Victorian harness racing and will host HRV’s next major carnival, the Tabcorp Australasian Breeders Crown, which culminates in August.