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By Rod Fuller

Following an extremely successful cup carnival, the stage is set for another wonderful day of racing action with Secret Keeper to dominate in the feature event on Lake Cathie Tavern Raceday at Port Macquarie on Sunday.

The son of Xtravagant is considered a strong chance in the Lake Cathie Cup and deserves success after finishing powerfully over the concluding stages when a gallant second behind Uncle Harry at his recent performance over this track and distance.

Form prior includes a dominant victory over Bianco Nero in the Merv Mercer Sprint on Coffs Harbour Cup Day and the gelding lost no admirers in a recent effort in Highway company at Rosehill last month.

Secret Keeper (Ben Looker) lands the major prize at Coffs Harbour. Image by Trackside Photography

Aiden St Vincent puts the polish on Secret Keeper, and the Coffs Harbour trainer has benefited from a lifetime around racing and derived vast experience and knowledge thanks to the support provided by his legendary father, Paul.

It is significant the colours sported by the flashy bay on Sunday have been carried by many fine gallopers over the years with none more dominant than The Jackal who won numerous Stakes races and amassed prizemoney well in excess of $1 million.

Matt McGuren has been engaged to ride Secret Keeper, and the prominent north coast hoop is riding with great confidence following numerous recent wins at Ballina and Grafton.

Dangers in the event centre around Wing Nut with the chestnut gelding looking to capitalise on recent efforts at Coffs and Taree with the hope of a more genuine tempo than his recent appearance at the local circuit.

Khant Fail didn’t handle the heavy ground at Tuncurry last start and the recent Port efforts together with the promise of a good track surface should provide plenty of encouragement for a strong showing.

After breaking through for a well-deserved maiden win at Port last June, Crazy Mikki is set to account for rivals in the opening event following a sound spell resumption at the track during the recent cup carnival.

The daughter of Mikki Isle has been an outstanding money spinner for the Tony Ball stable after registering eight placings before her debut victory and will derive a great deal of benefit from a gallant third behind Confederate Lady last week following a three-month break.

Immortal Storm returns to the local circuit in the John Oxley Motors Handicap after two encouraging placings and the son of I Am Immortal looks set to provide the Scott Henley stable with further success while Send a Telegram and Sparkingly should be hard to beat in the final two events on the program.

With the promise of fine weather conditions and strong final acceptances, the racing complex should be a hive of activity with full betting service on the local and corresponding meetings around the country together with great food and refreshments supplied by Char Bar Catering.

Lake Cathie is a short drive from Port Macquarie and provides and idyllic coastal paradise that features the second-largest estuarine saltmarsh area in New South Wales. The Lake Cathie Tavern blends the best in the area from ice-cold beers to beach-food classics, and the Club is delighted to welcome everyone associated with this great business and thank them for their sponsorship.

The Club is also extremely appreciative of the continued support provided by associated sponsors including John Oxley Motors, Carlton & United Breweries, together with Celebrations Lake Cathie and welcome the various local sporting groups to the Port complex.

Details regarding general admission tickets together with reserved seating in the Ivan Livermore Stand are available by contacting the Port Macquarie Race Club office on 02 6581 1964 or email - admin@portmacquarieraceclub.com.au

A reminder the Flower Hotels Raceday on Thursday 13th November is the Club’s final meeting for the year before racing returns to ring in the New Year on Thursday, 1st January 2026.

SELECTIONS
Race 1 - 2:05PM LAKE CATHIE FOOTBALL CLUB CLASS 1 HCP (1006M): 4 Crazy Mikki, 2 Sculptor, 6 Magnolia Jewel
Race 2 – 2:40PM JOHN OXLEY MOTORS COUNTRY BOOSTED MAIDEN HCP (1006M): 1 Immortal Storm, 2 Kooky, 12 The Simple Life
Race 3 - 3:15PM LAKE CATHIE NETBALL CLUB CLASS 1 & MAIDEN PLATE (1812M): 5 Highland Hustle, 7 Einstein’s Theory, 3 Backward Glance
Race 4 - 3:55PM CARLTON DRY MAIDEN PLATE (1509M): 9 Crudo, 1 Chelsea, 6 Mr Square Pants
Race 5 - 4:35PM LAKE CATHIE TAVERN – LAKE CATHIE CUP COUNTRY BOOSTED BENCHMARK 58 HCP (1509M): 4 Secret Keeper, 8 Wing Nut, 9 Khant Fail
Race 6 – 5:10PM LAKE CATHIE RAIDERS RLFC CLASS 2 HCP (1206M): 8 Send a Telegram, 5 Edge of Midnight, 3 Star Prediction
Race 7 - 5:50PM CELLARBRATIONS – LAKE CATHIE BENCHMARK 66 HCP (1106M): 6 Sparkingly, 7 Golden Honour, 5 Canny Prospect

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Port Macquarie here