Buy Me Gold

Racehorses are a better investment than gold, if you believe the owners and trainers at the Yass Picnic Race Club. While other girls donned plumed hats and one plucky man wore a frilly maid’s outfit for the 106th annual race meeting, I headed to the stables in search of photographic treasure.

All trainers swear their horses will romp into the winner’s circle, I learned, which makes getting betting tips straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, somewhat fraught. But someone must inevitably win and in Race 1, the Maiden Plate, it was almost Buy Me Gold, trained by Joe Cleary of Queanbeyan. Above, Buy Me Gold is tacked up with a tiny racing pad and mask, looking like an equine super hero, on the way to a respectable second place. I took this image with a plastic point-n-shoot Pix Panorama.

After a day at the races, I’ve decided the adage about never working with children and animals is only half true. There’s a reason attention-seekers are called “show ponies” — horses simply can’t resist gazing directly into the camera, making them fun and alluring subjects.