By David Nagel
The time-honoured M.J Bourke Hurdle and the J.E.H Spencer Memorial Steeplechase were the feature races on a six-race card of jumps racing at Pakenham on Sunday.
The Pakenham Racing Club has a long history of hosting jumps racing, with the M.J Bourke Hurdle dating back to the first running of the event in 1957.
The M.J Bourke Hurdle is the club’s signature hurdle race and is named in honour of Michael Joseph Bourke, who with his brother Hugh, originally provided, and later sold to the Pakenham Race Club, the land on which the old track on Racecourse Road was built.
In 1926, Michael Bourke was instrumental in the reconstruction of the racecourse, as well as providing the necessary finance.
He was appropriately the Secretary of the Pakenham Racing Club from 1926 until ill health forced his retirement in 1949, at which time his son, David Bourke took over the position of Secretary at age 18.
The name Bourke is synonymous with the Pakenham Racing Club through generations of involvement by the Bourke family.
This year’s edition of the $100,000 feature was one of the best in recent memory, with the Peter Gelagotis-trained Blandford Lad causing somewhat of a boilover, edging out short-priced favourite Saunter Boy to win by a half-length on the line.
Saunter Boy, ridden by Steven Pateman, jumped straight to the front and dictated terms for most of the two-mile (3200m) journey, while jockey Arron Lynch had Blandford Lad camped at the back of the field.
Lynch coasted towards the leaders mid-race, before hitting the front with 600 left to go.
Blandford Lad and Saunter Boy then settled down for a two-horse war, with Blandford Lad $9.50 proving too good for the $2 favourite in the concluding stages.
Blandford Lad ran third, behind Saunter Boy and St Arnicca, in last year’s $300,000 Grand National Hurdle and is sure to be set for a similar target this year.
Pateman gained revenge on Lynch in the final race of the day, the J.E.H Spencer Memorial.
Pateman was aboard the $1.30 favourite, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Stern Idol, who gave his rivals a galloping lesson winning by 15 lengths on the line.
The former French galloper has now won three of six races since joining the Maher/Eustace camp in latter stages of 2021, and appears set to finally realise his full potential.
The six-year-old gelding – Raven’s Pass/Scree Icon – will now be set for a testing winter campaign, with the upcoming May carnival at Warrnambool to provide a considerable launching pad.
Pateman took home riding honours for the day after earlier winning aboard the Declan Maher-trained Nelson.
Lynch and Pateman were responsible for three one-two finishes on the program, and are clearly the jockeys to follow as we head into the jumping equivalent of the Spring Racing Carnival.
