The VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series got underway at The Valley on Friday, 26 October, with the VOBIS Gold Star taking centre stage in front of a record crowd on Manik­­­ato Stakes night.
It was a strongly contested field, highlighted by last season’s VOBIS Gold Star winner Widgee Turf and runner up Amadeus, with country cups king Vianden also amongst the nine runners.
However, it was the Darren Weir-trained favourite Iconoclasm with John Allen aboard who prevailed under lights, taking home a share in $150,000 in prizemoney and a further $30,000 in VOBIS bonuses.
The Patrick Payne-trained Widgee Turf and outsider Nangawooka rounded out the placegetters in the first race of 18 to be showcased across metropolitan and country Victoria.
The 2018-19 VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series, which runs from October 2018 to July 2019, offers $4.45 million in prizemoney and bonuses this season for VOBIS Gold-nominated horses.
The series rewards those who chose to breed, buy, own and race their horses in Victoria and is headlined by the introduction of The Showdown, a $1 million VOBIS Sires race for two-year-olds this year.
A total of 843 Victorian-sired horses are eligible for the inaugural “Showdown” which will be held on Victorian Owners and Breeders Race Day at Caulfield on Saturday, 27 April 2019.
The next race of the series, the VOBIS Gold Eureka Stockade, will take place on Ballarat Cup Day, Saturday, 24 November and will offer a total of $180,000 in prizemoney and bonuses.
To view the full 2018-19 VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series or for further information on the VOBIS program, visit racingvictoria.com.au/vobis.