Pateman stable claims a double at Broome Turf Club’s family day

Fine weather and free admission guaranteed a bumper crowd at the Broome Turf Club on Sunday and a seven-event program provided all the excitement the punters needed.

So while the bouncy castle and the face painting kept the children entertained, the horses and jockeys put on a great day’s racing.

The Darren Pateman stable claimed a winning double, and proved a 1200km journey to Port Hedland the day before to win a race with a horse called In the Bag was all in a day’s work.

If there was a bad luck story it appeared in race six, when the even-money favourite Desert Storm, a winner at its previous two starts, did not appear in the race book.

Call it an omen, but the gelding finished out of the money.

Punters got off to a good start when the Dan Morton stable saluted with All Metal, a maiden galloper which had put the writing on the wall with a second at its previous start.

Jockey Chris Nicole led all the way to win by two lengths.

The second race was won by the Derby-trained Red’s Mate. This was a sentimental victory for trainer Kelvin Moore, whose uncle died during the week.

Joe Moore was a North West identity, who had trained and ridden winners for more than sixty years.

He is also credited with first airlifting a horse in the 1950s from the West Kimberley to Wyndham in a Bristol Air Freighter.

The Pateman stable produced the first winner of its double, when Monash staged a form improvement to lead all the way for apprentice jockey Jessica Gray.

Supporters were very happy with the $19 dividend although perhaps a little lucky the early favourite Pit to Win was a late scratching.

Slick Unit produced another slick performance to race on the pace and win by two lengths. At its previous start it led all the way to win by almost four lengths.

Miss Ellmya appreciated the drop in class and distance to take out race five. The former metro winner as a two year old gave nothing else a chance, winning by more than two lengths.

Race six saw another all the way win to Song of Vincent. Supporters remembered its winning form in Broome in 2019, when it put together several wins.

Its fast early pace did not suit the favourite, Desert Storm, which nonetheless finished a gallant fourth.

The meeting ended with the Pateman stable producing an Eastern States galloper called Elleofadeel.

This five-year-old mare had produced a promising run a fortnight ago, and punters were happy to take the $3.10 odds on offer.

She didn’t let them down with a five-length win and the promise of more to come.