Fairytales were written on the track while the July Carnival glitz and glamour sparkled

50+ photos highlighting the best moments on and off the track across the five race days of Grafton’s July Carnival.

2 min read

July 12, 2021 - 4:42PM

Grafton

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Clarence River Jockey Club chief executive chairman Michael Beattie declared the 2021 July Racing Carnival the proudest he’s been part of after the conclusion of the fifth and final race meeting on Sunday.

Despite travel restrictions in place, mandatory masks and uncertainty surrounding Covid for the duration, more than 7000 people came through the CRJC gates across the two weeks.

Michael Costa trained Purrfect Deal ridden by jockey Ben Thompson won the $200,000 Maclean Hotel Grafton Cup at Clarence River Jockey Club on Thursday, 8th July, 2021. Photo: Bill North / The Daily Examiner

“I think in the circumstances it was outstanding to be able to still get a 50 per cent participation rate in a Covid environment when people from Sydney and surrounds couldn’t attend and the very real fear factor in the community,” Mr Beattie said.

“Amazingly, nearly every individual meeting was virtually 50 per cent of our pre-Covid crowd. The exact numbers were quite incredible.

“I’ve got to say, this made planning for Ramornie, Grafton Cup and Maclean Cup Day much easier, because the 50 per cent had already entrenched on the first two days, we planned for 50 per cent and got that.

“We had well over 7000 people attend the five days of the carnival and we had a total of three significance issues in relation to people not wanting to co-operate and wear masks.”

Out and about at the 2021 Westlawn Black and Gold race day (June 27, 2021)

The NSW Government threw a curve ball on the CRJC when it tightened Covid event restrictions on the eve of the opening day of the carnival.

Mr Beattie said an emergency staff meeting was called and from that moment the carnival ran seamlessly.

“I suppose we were lucky because we had run a very small carnival last year under not dissimilar restrictions and as a consequence we were subconsciously prepared if something went wrong,” he said.

“When we got the call on the Saturday night before Westlawn Day, we had a hurried staff meeting, and said ‘righto, all the stuff we did last year we’ll do again and just make it work’.

“I was extremely lucky my management team and core casual staff were all on board for what we had to achieve and made the whole thing pretty seamless.

“Certainly out of everything we had control over, there was nothing to be disappointed by.”

Meanwhile, Mr Beattie remarked on the condition of the racetrack after 40 races and two barrier trials across a 15-day period.

Boyles, ridden by Allan Chau and trained by Scott Henley, charges home to victory in the final feature race of the 2021 July Carnival, the Maclean Bowling Club Maclean Cup, on Sunday, 11th July, 2021.

The course rating hovered around the Soft 5 to 6 mark for most of the carnival. After overnight rain it rated a Heavy 9 for the start of South Grafton Cup Day , while it got down to a Good 4 late on Grafton Cup Day.

“Considering a total of 492 horses hit the track over the carnival, it played amazingly well,” Mr Beattie said.

“It raced very fairly. It didn’t matter where you were on the track, it was competitive.”

Fairytales were written on the track while the July Carnival glitz and glamour sparkled

Check out The Daily Examiner’s selection of some of the best moments from the hundreds captured on camera on and off the track across the five race days of Grafton’s July Carnival.