Jundah certainly not down in the pits

By Jordan Gerrans

The Pitman family worked tirelessly to resurrect the Jundah Race Club track after devastating flooding earlier this year.

And, as the club’s annual meeting rolls around for 2025 this Saturday, the Pitman clan probably deserve a winner or two for all their efforts.

The Central West town was hit by record-breaking flooding in March, as were several outback towns in nearby areas, with dozens of residents evacuated by helicopters.

The Jundah Race Club over the last five or so years have been run by local president Dan and his wife Maree who is the secretary.

After rebuilding their track and local facilities, and being involved with the industry for decades, the Pitmans have decided to launch their own racing stable and will kick-off the new venture this Saturday at their beloved track.

Long-time racing industry figures in the Central West believe the Pitmans are behind the resurgence of the Jundah club in recent years as they worked hard to rebuild the track while also introducing the popular camel races to town.

In her first day as a trainer this Saturday, Maree will saddle up Saltclay, Simply Smashing and Dirty Merchant across the non-TAB program.

When new trainers usually commence their own team, they will start with one horse and go from there, but Maree is not having any of that.

“We don’t ever do anything small out here (laughs),” she said.

“My husband lives on the auction site for horses and they are ones that have caught his eye over time.

“He is the one that buys them for us and he is usually not a bad picker of a horse.”

When the enormous flooding hit Jundah earlier this year, there would have been serious doubts if racehorses such as Saltclay, Simply Smashing and Dirty Merchant would be able to compete at Jundah’s annual program.

The Central West area received rainfall of up to 600 millimetres, which is nearly double the yearly average annual rainfall, and caused flooding never experienced before.

During the ordeal, the local community stayed strong, according to Barcoo Shire Mayor Sally O'Neil.

"We've all kept our chins up," O'Neil said.

"It's been hard work."

The Pitmans, alongside fellow local volunteers, including Cameron Brown, ensured their track would be ready for the popular races.

“It was a massive job, our track was completely stripped away,” Maree said.

“It looked like a river, actually.

“The team did a lot of work to get it back up to scratch, it has been a huge effort of their part to get it up and running again.

“The work ethic out here, everyone just ensures it happens and there wasn’t any thought that we wouldn’t be able to race this year.

“The races are a pretty important event down here for our local community, no one wants to let them go, so they moved heaven and earth to make sure it happened.

“There are no downers, everyone is one foot in front of the other to ensure it happens. The track looks amazing at the moment.”

Before going into training in recent times, the Pitman husband-and-wife team owned several gallopers with stables in the region such as Toni Schofield and David Rewald, among others.

They enjoyed success with horses such as Dizzy Devine and Daulat Machtigkuda, among several others.

It is an entire new ballgame when you are training them yourself, but Maree says the family are thriving on the challenge.

“I have always enjoyed being a little more involved so that is why we have gone down this line,” she said.

“I am thoroughly enjoying training the horses, it has been really nice work along the way.

“My husband Dan does it with me and we like doing it together.

“It is a different feel come race day as you feel like you have contributed a little bit more compared to just paying the bill.”

Of the new stables' maiden runners on Saturday, Maree believes Simply Smashing is their best winning chance in the Class 1 Handicap over 1000 metres.

The rookie trainer described Simply Smashing as a ‘little pocket rocket’.

The filly was previously prepared by Billy Healey at Caloundra and will have her second career race start at Jundah.

Dan is in his second stint as president of the Jundah club.

He introduced the popular camel racing meeting to the local area, which is run earlier in the year in conjunction with the Bedourie, Boulia and Winton circuit.