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380-kilometers east of Melbourne at Swifts Creek on Sunday the curtain was drawn on another successful Picnic Racing season. While the pandemic meant the circuit would start later than normal, crowds slowly filtered back and across 28 meetings over 160 races were run.
Even so, it wasn’t until the very final race on Sunday that the Picnic Trainers Premiership was decided with Don Dwyer holding on by one victory after a late season charge from Troy Kilgower.
One award however that didn’t go down to the wire was the Jockey’s Premiership whose fate was sealed many weeks earlier. In just his third season of race riding, 31-year-old Shaun Cooper won his second riders title with 31 wins to his name – 12 wins clear of Grant Secombe in second place.
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Two rising stars of the riding ranks will be absent from form guides in the coming weeks with Fred Kersley and Lewis German both set for time on the sidelines.
Having ridden at Flemington last Saturday, a statement put out by Kersley’s manager Mark Guest, explained Kersley was rushed to hospital on Sunday morning finding it hard to breathe. He underwent surgery later that day after discovering a burst ulcer lodged in his duodenal - rupturing his duodenal. Kersley hopes to be riding in early March and has commenced rehab.
“I’d like to thank family & those close to me for all the kind messages. Footscray hospital and the VJA for the support and ongoing help towards me,” Kersley said in a statement.