The Queensland Pacing Championship is the most important event in Queensland harness racing. [1] It is usually the opening leg of the Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit. [1] The race was previously known as the Albion Park Ten Thousand between 1969 and 1974 and then as the Sir Clive Uhr Championship from 1975 to 1980. [2] In 2006 the race was postponed from Saturday to Tuesday due to rain [3] and it was not run in 2007 due to the Equine Influenza outbreak that occurred in Queensland and New South Wales. [4] In April 2016 Racing Queensland announced that the Queensland Pacing Championship would be discontinued due to financial considerations. [5]
Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).
The Australian Grand Circuit for Pacers began in 1977 and was designed to be the showpiece of the Australian Harness Racing Industry with horses competing from every state within Australia. In 1992 New Zealand was admitted and the Circuit was renamed the Australasian Grand Circuit.
An outbreak of equine influenza (EI) in Australia was confirmed by the Department of Primary Industries on 24 August 2007 in Sydney. Also known as "horse flu" and "A1 influenza", the rapid outbreak was of the Influenza A virus strain of subtype H3N8. While the virus is highly contagious, it rarely kills adult horses but the performance of thoroughbred racing horses can be affected for several weeks. It can be fatal to young foals and debilitated horses.
Year | Horse | Driver | Mile Rate | Distance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Our Hi Jinx | Greg Sugars | 1:55.0 | 2680m | |
2014 | For A Reason | Luke McCarthy | 1:56.4 | 2680m | |
2013* | Ideal Scott | John McCarthy | 1:57.8 | 2680m | |
2012 | Washakie | Luke McCarthy | 1:57.5 | 2680m | |
2011 | Mr Feelgood | Luke McCarthy | 1:57.0 | 2680m | |
2010 | Mr Feelgood | Luke McCarthy | 1:55.9 | 2680m | |
2009 | Blacks A Fake | Natalie Rasmussen | 1:58.9 | 2609m | |
2008 | Blacks A Fake | Natalie Rasmussen | 1.56.0 | 2138m | |
2007 | Not held due to Equine Influenza (E.I.) | ||||
2006 | Slipnslide | Luke McCarthy | 1:59.2 | 2138m | |
2005 | Slipnslide | Luke McCarthy | 1:55.7 | 2138m | |
2004 | Cobbity Classic | Luke McCarthy | 1:57.3 | 2680m | |
2003 | Double Identity | Harry Martin | 1:55.7 | 2138m | |
2002 | Double Identity | Harry Martin | 1:58.0 | 2647m | |
2001 | Courage Under Fire | Brian Hancock | 2:00.0 | 2100m | |
2000 | Tailamade Lombo | Chris Alford | 1:55.3 | 2100m | |
1999 | Kyema Kid | Richard Hancock | 1:57.8 | 2100m | |
1998 | Three Half Whites | Justin Warwick | 1:58.0 | 2100m | |
1997 | Peter Santos | Neil Coy | 1:58.4 | 2100m | |
1996 | Desperate Comment | Peter Jones | 1:55.7 | 2100m | |
1995 | Sunshine Band | Chris Gleeson | 1:55.8 | 2100m | |
1994 | Chandon | Vic Frost | 1:58.1 | 2100m | |
1993 | Warrior Khan | Andrew Peace | 1:57.0 | 2100m | |
1992 | Franco Tiger | Brian Gath | 1:58.0 | 2100m | |
1991 | Franco Ice | Graham Lang | 1:55.0 | 2100m | |
1990 | Westburn Grant | Vic Frost | 1:57.4 | 1609m | |
1999 | Thorate | Brian Hancock | 1:53.9 | 1609m | |
1988 | Our Maestro | Vin Knight | 1:56.4 | 1609m | |
1987 | Henry Luca | Kevin Thomas | 1:58.1 | 1609m | |
1986 | Wondai's Mate | Darryl Reinke | 1:55.6 | 1609m | |
1985 | Preux Chevalier | Barry Perkins | 1:54.3 | 1609m | |
1984 | Wondai's Mate | Darryl Reinke | 1:56.2 | 1609m | |
1983 | Popular Alm | Vin Knight | 1:55.8 | 1609m | |
1982 | Double Agent | Joe Ilsley | 1:16.6 | 2530m | |
1981 | Gammalite | Bruce Clarke | 1:17.5 | 2530m | |
1980 | Koala King | Brian Hancock | 1:17.1 | 2530m | |
1979 | Koala King | Kevin Robinson | 1:18.5 | 2530m | |
1978 | Rip Van Winkle | Michael Vanderkemp | 1:17.2 | 2530m | |
1977 | Paleface Adios | Colin Pike | 1:18.4 | 2530m | |
1976 | Don't Retreat | Laurie Moulds | 1:19.4 | 2530m | |
1975 | Paleface Adios | Colin Pike | 1:18.9 | 2530m | |
1974 | Spike | Kevin Robinson | 1:19.7 | 2530m | |
1973 | Apollo Eleven | Kevin Newman | 2:11.4 | 12f 132y | |
1972 | Red Vicar | Laurie Moulds | 2:05.4 | 12f 132y | |
1971 | Para Chief | Rex Hocking | 2:06.2 | 12f 132y | |
1970 | Style Beaux | Tom Mahar | 2:09.0 | 12f 132y | |
1969 | Billy Adios | Kevin Newman | 2:06.8 | 12f 132y |
Michael "Mick" Sydney Doohan, is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Only Giacomo Agostini with eight and Valentino Rossi with seven have won more premier class titles.
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Maori's Idol was an Australian Standardbred racehorse. He was the first Australian trotter to break two minutes with a time of 1:59.3 on 19 November 1977 at Moonee Valley. Maori's Idol became one of Australia's greatest trotters, with a record 24 successive race victories before placing third in the 1978 Melbourne Inter-Dominion Final. He is still the trotting record holder with 22 wins in a season. He was so superior to his rivals that he may have gone through his career unbeaten had he been placed to advantage by his connections.
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