The $150,000 MNCRA qualifying heat for the $400,000 Country Final at The Championships on April 1 lived up to all expectations with the three local star gallopers sweeping to the lead together halfway down the straight.

Port Macquarie colt Cogliere, trained by Marc Quinn and ridden by his former now champion Sydney apprentice Andrew Adkins, proved too strong to score from Taree mare Shotgun Roulette with Taree gelding Ever So Natural a gallant third.

Rain before the meeting deterred many patrons but apart from one shower just before the qualifier,the meeting was blessed with good weather.

Club chairman Gregory Coleman said he and the visiting officials from Racing NSW were “extremely pleased with the crowd (1250) under the circumstances.

“It was half that of last year but when you compare it with the crowd of 7000 for mighty mare Winx at Royal Randwick on Saturday,our country crowd stacked up well.”

Punters on the TAB splurged $1.2 million on the meeting but the betting turnover from fixed odds betting and overseas is expected to substantially boost that figure.

The presence of the Sydney jockeys in the qualifier boosted betting turnover from $400,000 last year to around $450,000…a excellent result on a day enjoyed by all.

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Champion mare Winx in making it 15 wins in a row at Randwick on Saturday reminds me of what another great galloper did…and it belonged to a Taree trainer.

It was grey gelding Cangronde which won 15 races for trainer,part-owner Cliff Bashford.

The only difference is that one unplaced run blew its sequence of 14 winning runs in races on the Gold Coast, Doomben, Newcastle, Gosford, Randwick, Eagle Farm and Grafton.

The grey gelding kicked off its career in scoring by five lengths in the then rich Walcha maiden on February 10, 1995.

It then won six races in a row before unplacing behind smart Moss Rocket in a Group 3 race at Randwick.

Three weeks later its winning sequence continued with eight races in a row which included the Ramornie Handicap at Grafton in July, 1996, and wins in the Challenge and Expressway Handicaps at Randwick.

That run ended with a 1.3 lengths second to the mighty Mahogany in the Lightning Group 1 Stakes at Flemington in February, 1997.

Cangronde in having 30 starts only won one more race that again being the Challenge Stakes at Randwick in January, 1998, and the gelding was retired in November, the next year, earning prizemoney of $612,465.

In nine campaigns,Cangronde won first-up five times and second up three times.

Not a bad effort for a country galloper.

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For a horse which cost only $2000,Tuncurry eight-year- old gelding Not Doubtful, trained by Terry Evans, has been a true bread and butter galloper in winning 13 races and being placed 20 more times in 95 starts.

But the end to its career may be in sight as Evans eyes of a 1300m race at Tuncurry Forster Jockey Club’s TAB meeting on March 11.

Its most recent win was on its home track where many of its wins have featured.

One of its owners, Terry Green, CEO of the Tuncurry Bowling Club, was in South Africa on business when Not Doubtful raced that day but with the benefit of technology he was able to watch the race before returning home the next day.

His wife was left with placing a bet on the gelding which early was $11 on TAB fixed odds and started about $4.60.

Also enjoying the ownership ride Steve and Penny Hong, Damien Joyce, Steve Hart, John McVicar, John Batlin and Evans.

“A couple of the owners pulled out a couple of years ago and since the new owners came in, we have had a terrific run,” said Evans.

“I try to place him where he doesn’y get so much weight but this is probably his last campaign.

“He has been a good, honest, money spinner.”

Among the wins was one at Gosford, and the gelding has placed in Sydney.

The Magic Millions buy sat wide last start and was responsible for a big effort.