The trucks will be loaded with another 12 racehorses from the Neil Dyer stable in the next few days to head up North to compete in the 2015 Darwin race carnival (others are already on their way north to complete a big team).
It will be cold and fresh here in Victoria but beautiful in the Northern Territory where the horses thrive. Each year Neil races up North which has been very rewarding for him, he has won 2 Darwin cups and run second 3 times with two incredible horses in Hawks Bay and Palmyra boy. Neil has won nearly every feature race in the carnival with a variety of horses including the NT Derby with Royal Request and Hawks Bay; the Darwin Guineas with Hawks Bay; the Roant Cup 3 times with Palmyra Boy and Hawks Bay. The Burnborough Cup was a super win for Hawky over 1000m first up and then the 2000m Cup at the end of that same carnival!! Action Again won the Palmerston Cup and last year Belle Ez won the Rose Bowl, with Bel Sir taking out the Toyota Cup. So as you can now understand, the Darwin Carnival is very rewarding to the Neil Dyer stable. There are many other races to be won and have been won by Neil and his team. The prize money is great!
It is a big commitment to pack up each year for nearly 3 months and although the weather is great it is by no means a holiday for Neil. The pressure is on for him to do what he does best and win races for his owners. The Darwin facilities make training the large number of horses a manageable thing, with a swimming pool and the beach at your fingertips, you can keep the horses sweet, happy and sound. The stable has many owners and some really enjoy booking their tickets and flying up north to watch their horses race. It is a wonderful thing to have these people get on board and enjoy the racing and the events that take place over the carnival, like the famous annual Under The Stars Darwin ball. There are new owners to this year’s carnival and many exciting new horses, so fingers crossed this year is a most successful and rewarding journey. There’s no Hawks Bay this year but there are a few Cup hopefuls.
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE INVOLVED. THE EXCITEMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.