Shipstern Bluff, with Jackie Beriman at the controls, charges to victory in the $22,000 Moama Bowling Club Handicap — one of the feature races at Echuca on Melbourne Cup Day. Photos: Jay Town/Racing Photos.
Dashing down the home straight at Echuca Racing Club was Shipstern Bluff, edging out Bow Ribbon and San Marco for a visceral victory.
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This was the Moama Bowling Club Handicap contested by 11 horses on Melbourne Cup Day.
While every punter was either rejoicing in or resenting their picks for Flemington’s race that stops the nation, Bendigo trainer Shane Fliedner witnessed his second win of the day.
And he wasn’t surprised about mare’s efforts in the 1400m race.
“I expected exactly what we've done,” Fliedner said.
“Shipstern had been trialling well, had a bit of form, so we were confident.”
Just before Shipstern sprinted to a prize of $12,100, Fliedner’s Some Chance placed third in another 1400m race — the Murphys Turf and Landscaping Maiden Plate.
And at the start of the racecard, the trainer had Frozen Tide ease clear of Earthly Crown — trained by ex-Echuca based Rhys Archard — to sit on the throne of the Two Tarts Catering Handicap over 1600m.
So another $12,100 there. Fliedner had a pretty good day.
“It couldn’t have gone much better,” he said.
They were wins on a track Fliedner thoroughly enjoys, and he loves bringing the best from his stable up north.
“Put it this way, here you can generally go as good as you can,” the trainer said.
“It’s a nice flat track, every horse gets a chance.
“Some days there can be a leader bias, but generally the winner can come from anywhere, which is all you need in a track.”
That feeling about Echuca is shared by Jackie Beriman, the Cranbourne jockey who rode Shipstern and Some Chance.
Winners really are grinners and jockey Jackie Beriman and Shipstern Bluff seem to be sharing a laugh as they return to scale after their victory.
Which is easy to say when she has a good record here.
But we’ll bask in the local love.
“Echuca has an excellent racecourse,” Beriman said.
“It's a beautiful track.
“And the scenes on Melbourne Cup Day are very, very cool.
“It's all very well done.”
It certainly is.
The chorus provided to a seven-race slate came from a plethora of parochial punters, who paused to change their tune and provide Flemington fanfare at 3pm.
Everyone watched Point Of Law’s victory on the big screen, located not far from the Echuca track’s finish — that stretch of grass outside the main pavilion saw much foot traffic throughout.
A day blessed with superb weather, hospitality and entertainment.
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