Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Cairns Cup has been run and won for another year, with locally trained and owned Tutelage saluting the judge. It was the husband and wife training duo of Janel and Ronnie Ryan's fourth Cairns Cup, following wins in 2001, 2015 and 2018. The Ryan training feat saw Tutelage go from a maiden to a winner, winning at the Cairns Cup in 18 months, a pretty impressive effort in anybody's books. Nearly 5,000 people got dressed up in their finest and headed to Cannon Park over the weekend for a sun soaked Far North Queensland day to catch the action on day 2 of the Cairns Cup carnival. In fact, the numbers through the gate at the Cairns Cup outstripped all expectations and made it the biggest event on record. Ladies Day, the previous weekend, saw 2,500 people head to the races, a number on par with previous years.

All eyes now turn to the Cairns Amateurs Racing Carnival in a few weeks time. Cairns amateurs is arguably the biggest event on the Cairns social calendar. Sadly, last year's event was cancelled due to COVID, but in 2019 it set a 10-year record, with about 11,000 people passing through the gates. I have no doubt that, if there are no last-minute lockdowns or spur-of-the-moment restrictions placed on Far North Queenslanders, this year's Cairns amateurs will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, on record. (Time expired)