RACING Minister Grace Grace has announced the final four new appointees to the seven-member board of the State’s peak racing industry body – the Racing Queensland Board.
The Minister said the appointments showed the government had delivered on its commitment to create a new Racing Queensland board comprised of three racing industry participants and four independents, as recommended by the MacSporran Commission.
“The new appointees – drawn from across Queensland – bring additional expertise and skills to those of the existing board members. Their records in commerce, law, finance, marketing, tourism and racing are exactly what the industry needs to grow and prosper the racing industry across all three codes in Queensland,” she said
Ms Grace said Mark Sowerby would join Margaret Reynolds (harness) and Dale Cartwright (greyhounds) as the third board member with racing industry experience. “Mark has more than 30 years’ involvement in the Thoroughbred racing industry and a strong background in business and investment,” she said. Mr Sowerby replaces initial appointee Rockhampton trainer Jim Rundle who resigned in early April this year after a series of seemingly anti-Islamic posts were uncovered on his social media account.
Cairns business-woman Sharon Dawson also joins the board as an independent director and Deputy Chair. Sharon is the Chief Executive Officer of the Dawsons Group – a diversified heavy engineering and services company with operations in Cairns, Townsville and Charters Towers. She is also a former member of the Advisory Committee for TAFE North and previously sat on the Management Committee for Advance Cairns. Sharon has a strong knowledge of country and regional racing.
Urban List founder and digital entrepreneur Susannah George completes the line-up of independents, along with former Channel 7 executive and Sheffield Shield cricketer Max Walters. Susannah’s great grandfather Daniel O’Mara and grandfather Judge Eddie Broad were both previous chairmen of the Brisbane Amateur Turf Club. A senior executive with the Seven Network for 26 years, Max was responsible for highly successful marketing, promotional and broadcast agreements between the Seven Network and both the South Australian Jockey Club and the Brisbane Racing Club.
The full Board is:
- Independent Chair: Steve Wilson
- Independent member and Deputy Chair: Sharon Dawson
- Independent member: Susannah George
- Independent member: Max Walters
- Industry member (Thoroughbreds): Mark Sowerby
- Industry member (Harness): Margaret Reynolds
- Industry member (Greyhounds): Dale Cartwright
Queensland has three Group 1 winners
BUFFERING, Capitalist and Miss Cover Girl are the Group 1 ‘icing on the cake’ for the Queensland breeding industry during the 2015-2016 racing season.
Rising 9YO sprinter Buffering (Mossman/Action Annie) proved his durability with Group 1 wins in Melbourne and Perth in 2015 prior to showing his prodigious talent on the international stage through wining the Group 1 Al Quoz (1000m) on the Dubai World Cup program in March.
Hot on the heels of Buffering’s Dubai triumph, Capitalist (Written Tycoon/Kitalpha) proved he was Australia’s best 2YO by winning the Group 1 Golden Slipper and 4YO mare Miss Cover Girl (Monashee Mountain/Tolart) has now reached elite status with victory in the final Group 1 race of the racing season – the 1400m Tatt’s Tiara for fillies and mares.
Tatt’s Tiara to Miss Cover Girl
QUEENSLAND-bred 4YO mare Miss Cover Girl gave locals the last feature of the Brisbane Winter Carnival – the Group 1 Tattersall's Tiara (1400m) – at Eagle Farm, on Saturday.
The second Group 1 winner for Brisbane trainer Kelly Schweida, Miss Cover Girl was bred and is jointly raced by Townsville Turf Club chairman Kevin O’Keefe. Another owner is Jen Sommerfield who, with husband Joe, owns Blue Hills Thoroughbreds at Quinalow on the Darling Downs where Miss Cover Girl was foaled and subsequently prepared for the 2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale at which she was passed-in for $18,000 with a $20,000 reserve. Already a stakes winner of the Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes at Randwick as a 3YO filly, Miss Cover Girl sent her earnings soaring to $804,900 with her Tatt’s Tiara win.
The win capped a big day for Schweida. He was in Rockhampton where he saddled up Rockhampton Cup winner Ruling Force. Schweida began his training career in Townsville with O’Keefe as a regular client and the successful partnership continued in Brisbane with a Show A Heart filly named Tolart who won four races before being retired to stud. Her first mating was with the Danzig group winning sire Monashee Mountain (USA) – already the sire of Group 1 Stradbroke winner La Montagna – with Miss Cover Girl the resultant foal.
