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Always a competitive sprint is the Ramornie Handicap run at Grafton on Wednesday.
Takeover Target is the most famous winner of the race. Who adds their name to them in the 2022 Ramornie Handicap (1200m) at Grafton on Wednesday?
2022 Ramornie Handicap: Nominations
2022 RAMORNIE HANDICAP - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
Grafton's Ramornie Handicap is an annual feature of the Clarence River Jockey Club's July racing carnival and is one of the most famous country sprint races in Australia.
First run in 1910 as the Newmarket Handicap, the race name was changed to the Ramornie Handicap in 1917, taking its title from the Ramornie Station, a famous property on the banks of the Clarence River.
The Ramornie Handicap has been run over 1200m since its inception and carries Listed Race status. It shares top billing at the Grafton July Racing Carnival with the Grafton Cup.
The 2022 Ramornie Handicap was run for prizemoney of $200,000.
The Ramornie Handicap boasts seven multiple winners with the most famous being Cuban Song, a local sprinter who won the race four times in successive years from 1933 to 1936.
The other multiple winners are Trovatore (1955/56), Develope (1970/71), High Classic (1980/1982), Credit Again (1986/87), The Jackal (2007/08) and Havasay (2018/19).
The Ramornie Handicap has been won by some of Australia's top sprinters, none better than the 8-time Group One winner Takeover Target in 2004.
Other notable Ramornie Handicap winners since 1970 include Swiftly Ann, Mistress Anne, Razor Sharp, Veiled Report, Lightning Bend, Tiny's Finito, Friend's Venture, Lucky Dapper, Cangronde, Kidlat, Sir Breakfast, Battlefield, Pinwheel, Howmuchdoyouloveme, Youthful Jack and Big Money.
The Ramornie Handicap has been won by many leading trainers and jockeys.
Winning Ramornie Handicap trainers since 1960 include Mal Barnes, Arthur Gore, Jim Johnstone, Roy Hinton, Kelso Wood, Colin Jillings, Frank Cleary, Tony Vasil, Keith Swan, John Morrissey, Ron Quinton, Liam Birchley, Peter Snowden, Ross Stitt, Rod Northam, John Sargent and John O'Shea.
Winning Ramornie Handicap jockeys since 1960 include Darby McCarthy, Bill Wade, Bill Burnett, John Wade, Peter Cook, Neil Williams, Larry Olsen, Wayne Harris, Malcolm Johnston, Alan Robinson, Matthew Cahill, Robert Thompson, Danny Nikolic, Brenton Avdulla and Tye Angland.
Robert Thompson, Australia's most successful jockey by wins, has won the Ramornie Handicap four times since 2007 (The Jackal twice, Youthful Jack, Big Money).
The last time the Ramornie Handicap/Grafton Cup double was achieved was in 1976 by jockey Geoff Challen and trainer Roy Hinton.
The 2021 Ramornie Handicap was won by Southern Lad from Phobetor and Fender.