Wellington Cup Carnival 2007 - Day One

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Overcast and breezy conditions for the first day of the 2007 Wellington Cup Carnival © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Star of Mulwala canters down the straight riderless to huge applause, having dumped her rider, Leith Innes, before the start of Race 2 © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Leading jockey Lisa Cropp takes Stole My Time to the lead in Race 2 © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Grant Cooksley brings Hitchcock back to the birdcage at the head of the field from Race 2, having run down Stole the Time on the line © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Regal Habit (Jim Collett), Suzy Harris (Tyler Johnson) and Sandareenee (Opie Bosson) break free 200 metres out in Race 3, finishing in that order © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Accompanied by the Clerk of the Course, Jim Collett returns the favourite, Regal Habit, to the birdcage as the winner of Race 3 © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Mark du Plessis eases down on The Pooka after winning Race 4 © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Hot Club Sandwich entertains the punters in the wine village © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

In a desperate finish to Race 5, outsider Tarascon (Craig Grylls) edges Under the Thumb (Cameron Lammas, rail), Take No Prisoners (Lisa Cropp), Rubiano (Hayden Tinsley) and Anz Time (Tomohiro Sasada) towards the wire © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Craig Grylls returns to the birdcage at the conclusion of Race 5 with the surprise, long-odds winner, Tarascon © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Olympic equestrian gold medalist and now trainer, Mark Todd, contemplates the prospects of his charge, Willy Smith, in the Trentham Stakes (he finished third) © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Up the straight in the Trentham Stakes for the last time, Grant Cooksley puts the whip away on Envoy, followed by Willy Smith (Matthew Cameron) and Kerry O'Reilly (Cameron Lammas) © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Envoy (Grant Cooksley) wins the Trentham Stakes from Kerry O'Reilly (Cameron Lammas) and Willy Smith (Matthew Cameron) © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Horses parade in the birdcage © 2007 Ross Collins

Wellington Cup Carnival 2007, Trentham, Day One, 20 January 2007

Hayden Tinsley has Figueres heading Lord (Bruce Herd) in the run to the finish of the Wellington Stakes, but is run down by a nose by Magic Cape in the last stride © 2007 Ross Collins