The day started well for Donna as she stormed home in Race 1 on the grey gelding Grey Assets, followed by Voire and The Cat’s Back.

She took a breather in Race 2, but returned to blitz the opposition in Race 3 aboard Hard Act to Follow.

In Race 6 Donna made it a hat trick as she powered past the post on Academy Boy by a neck from Bar Bender.

To finish in fine style and gather in over $15 000 in prizemoney for the day, she took out the feature race, The Diggers’ Cup, with a classy run on the grey gelding Teejay Hunter.

Race 2 was won by Katsidis, ridden by Shane Morris ahead of Momfasa and Little Dreamer.

In Race 4 Jeff Felix was a clear winner by a three quarter length ahead of My Bella Nera and Goal Attack while Kerry Rockett rode A Known Fact to a photo finish in the fifth.

An excited ABC radio personality and commentator Bluey Forsyth could not speak highly enough of the day’s racing.

“You’ve got a seven-race card, quality horses and jockeys, close finishes, a great crowd, good field conditions, tremendous atmosphere- this is country racing at its Adam Lindsay Gordon best.” said Bluey.

He said that changes to the racing schedule for 2009/10 have led to better racing by eliminating date clashes in the same region and promoting bigger fields of 10 to 12 jockeys and seven-race cards which draw much better crowds than four-race meetings.

“It’s just what country racing needs,” Bluey said. “I’m looking forward to the next twelve months now that some common sense has got into it. I’m real excited about country racing in the north if it continues in this vein.”

Mareeba Turf Club president Julia Parsons was disappointed that the schedule changes had meant Mareeba will lose its Anzac day meeting to Atherton, and expressed the hope “for the diggers’ sake” that the Atherton Turf Club would continue the tradition.

Mrs Parsons said she was pleased with the day’s racing and the support shown by the local crowd of over 300, with members of the RSL given free entry on their special day.

“And it was great to have Bluey Forsyth here today. He always supports the smaller clubs and we appreciate it no end. He’s worth his weight in gold.”

*More pictures in this week’s North Queensland Register, out Thursday.