KEMBLA GRANGE MEETING NOW TO BE HELD THURSDAY

ILLAWARRA Turf Club’s meeting scheduled for today at Kembla Grange will now be held on Thursday.

The decision to postpone the program was made following a RacingNSW stewards’ inspection early this morning which found a section of the track near the crossing at the 2000m mark was unsuitable for racing following heavy rain at the weekend.

Thursday’s fields will remain unchanged, and scratchings will be reinstated for the new date.

The first of seven races will begin at 1.50pm, with the closer at 5.20pm.

“We were reasonably confident yesterday morning about going ahead today, but we had another 5mm of rain during the day and a further 2mm overnight,” ITC racing manager Zane Campbell said this afternoon.

“We’ve had just over 130mm since Friday, and the patch near the 2000m crossing had not dried out and there was a 2400m Benchmark 64 Handicap on the program.”

Hawkesbury’s barrier trial session also fell victim to the wet, and will now be held on Friday.

The trials were originally scheduled for yesterday and postponed until today.

As a result of the new date, fresh nominations for all trials have been called and will close at 11am tomorrow (Wednesday).

Wyong trainer Nacim Dilmi has the sole provincial entries of 14 in Saturday’s Listed Carrington Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick.

Dilmi has nominated last year’s Provincial-Midway Championships Final hero Matcha Latta, who is resuming and will be having his first start for him, and five-times winner Roma Avenue, who has raced once this campaign.

Matcha Latte has 56kg (Sandpaper is topweight with 59kg), and Roma Avenue is on the limit (54kg).

Meanwhile Wyong Race Club will stage a special Invitational race for female jockeys to celebrate its McGrath Pink raceday on Sunday.

The Benchmark 64 Handicap (1300m) will highlight the program.

Jockeys on the invited list are Samantha Collett, Alysha Collett, Mikayla Weir, Jess Taylor, Robyn Freeman, Tina Comignaghi, Jenny Duggan, Amy McLucas, Deanne Panya, and apprentices Anna Roper, Mollie Fitzgerald, Siena Grima, Olivia Chambers and Shannen Llewellyn.

New Zealand jockeys Samantha Collett (currently second in the New Zealand jockeys’ premiership and who has ridden more than 1160 winners) and Tina Comignaghi, who has ridden winners at home at three of her last seven rides, have accepted invitations to compete at Wyong.

Thirty-three horses have been entered for the Wyong race.

With the rail out five metres for the meeting, the field is restricted to 12 with provision for six emergencies if there are sufficient acceptors.

Wyong trainers Damien Lane and Kristen Buchanan have accepted with Oakfield Badger and Annie’s Rose respectively for the Country Music Cup (1200m) at Thursday’s Showcase meeting at Tamworth to coincide with annual Country Music Festival.

Aaron Bullock will ride Oakfield Badger, and non-claiming apprentice Ben Osmond has been booked for Annie’s Rose.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, JANUARY 20, 2026