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By Mark Brassel

Picnic riders compete in around 120 races each season but there’s one event they all look forward to with great anticipation – the $50,000 NSW Picnic Champion Series Final.

Aside from nice prizemoney, it is the only race that they get to show their talent to an international TV audience via Sky Racing.

On a Promise (Clayton Gallagher) returns after scoring at Narromine. Image by Bradley Photographers

The Picnic Final forms part of next Sunday’s Coonamble’s Racing NSW Country Showcase TAB meeting that boasts $362,000 in prizemoney.

Rodney Robb won the first two Finals with Security Code (ridden by Maddie Wright in 2017) and Austin (Mollie Partridge, 2018).

His son Brett is likely to provide one of the more fancied runners with On a Promise who finished second on the Series point score and is blazing form with three successive wins at Coonamble, Gilgandra and Narromine.

Maddie Wright, winner of the first-ever Final at Dubbo, is likely to be snapped up by Robb for one of his expected two or three starters.

Wright has been riding in tremendous form around the picnics with 17 winners from her past 44 rides at a success rate of 27%.

Deidre Adam, secretary of the NSW Picnic Racing Association, said: “Unfortunately there will be no crowd this year at the Coonamble Gold Cup due to COVID restrictions.

“Although we will be looking forward to our twilight meeting in November [Saturday 27th].

“We must thank our sponsors for their support even without a crowd: Geronimo Farm Equipment, Qube Agri, Nutrien Ag Solutions, the Nalder and Keady families, Woodhams Petroleum and Swanny's Foods.

“Denis Todd [Loch Lomond Border Leicester Stud in Coonabarabran] has been a strong supporter of the Baradine Cup over the years and has his horse, Combogolong [winner of two from his past three outings], running in the Picnic Series Final.

“We are excited to have the NSW Picnic Champion Series Final held during the big Coonamble Gold Cup program; it is the first time the Final has been staged away from Dubbo.”

The feature next Sunday is the $75,000 Coonamble Gold Cup over 1600m, with Goulburn trainer Danny Williams having entered My Blue Jeans and Rent a Rock.

Williams also has the promising Southern Appeal in the $30,000 Benchmark 66 Handicap (1400m), where he will take holding out.

The five-year-old was having his first run for seven months when a game third to Starliv at Wagga (1200m) humping the steadier of 63kg.

Williams enjoyed a huge afternoon last year when successful with Petaluma (Daniel Northey, $13) in the Coonamble Cup and My Blue Jeans (Aaron Bullock, $10) in the Baradine Cup.

UPCOMING NSW COUNTRY RACE MEETINGS
Monday: Muswellbrook
Tuesday: Goulburn
Thursday: Armidale
Friday: Albury, Port Macquarie
Saturday: Wagga picnics (non-TAB), Forbes (non-TAB)
Sunday: Coonamble Cup Day