Tuncurry Forster Jockey Club's first public race meeting since the onset of COVID-19 has been deemed an overwhelming success, despite the crowd being restricted to 500 people.
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Club president Garry McQuillan said the standard of racing at Friday's XXXX Gold Cup was excellent, with seven of the eight races coming down to the wire.
"They were all close races, they were all good finishes except one," he said.
"You had to wait right to the finish to find out who won."
New Zealand gelding Tavion Prince, ridden by Andrew Gibbons and trained by Craig Martin, won the blue ribbon 2100m XXXX Gold Cup, while Taree gelding Fair Dinkum, ridden by Reece Jones and trained by Ross Stitt, won the 1200m Evermore Pearl.
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Mr McQuillan said the club would look to allow more people into its December meet after everyone was so well behaved.
The club chose to limit the amount of patrons it let in to ensure it could adhere to current COVID-19 guidelines, with tickets only available online.
"Everybody was terrific," Mr McQuillan said.
"We know now what we can manage so in the future we could let more people in.
"The next one we might let 1000 people in if they can all behave themselves like that."
The club's next scheduled meeting is the Christmas Party Race Day on Monday, December 7.
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