Inglis Xtra Bonus Begins

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

The $5 million Inglis Xtra Bonus Maiden Series officially begins on Friday at the Coffs Harbour Racing Club’s Coffs Cup Day. Every week throughout the 2024/25 racing season there will be a maiden race eligible for the Xtra Bonus for horses who are paid up members of the Inglis Race Series.

The eligible winners of these maiden races will gain a $100,000 bonus for connections.

“It’s exciting, we’ve got four accepted runners eligible for the race tomorrow,” said Inglis’ Sebastian Hutch. “It’s an idea that was a long time in the making so to see it come to fruition is exciting. We want to see as many people win as often as possible, and so we wanted to create a set of circumstances where this was possible, where winning often could be achieved for our clients.”

The first race in the series is race four at Coffs Harbour – a maiden showcase handicap over 1000 metres. Among the field are four Xtra Bonus eligible horses; Cerons (Street Boss {USA}), Capital Dancer (Capitalist), Art’s Alive (Snitzel) and Unite The Stars (Unite And Conquer).

“We have this race then one at the Sunshine Coast next week, and we have released the next set of races for September and October. Based on the interest we’ve had for this race, it appears to have gained the attention of our clients and hopefully can gain some traction through enjoying plenty of winners.”

Table: Upcoming Inglis Xtra Bonus races

Cerons had two starts at two, running second on debut in the Listed Maribyrnong Trial S. and sixth in the G2 Skyline S. “We took him to Melbourne and he went good and we were setting him for the Inglis Classic at Moonee Valley when everything went south. He got a skin disease, so we took him home and got him better. We’ve been waiting for this bonus series and have set him for it deliberately. He’s had a trial and now we hope to take advantage of the $100,000 bonus if we are good enough,” said Ceron’s trainer Brett Cavanough.

Capital Dancer has placed three times from four starts and is coming off a last start second at Newcastle. Art’s Alive has had five starts for a second placing on debut and was fourth in her last start at Hawkesbury.

The final Inglis Xtra Bonus eligible horse in the field, Unite The Stars, is on debut. She won a trial a fortnight ago.

“It’s a great incentive from Inglis and when they sent out the email with the list of races for the bonuses, this was one of them. The timing works out well for this horse. She’s just trialled well and she matched the eligibility criteria and then there’s the $100,000 bonus on offer. You don’t come across that money too often. Everything lines up well and she’s drawn well, she’s in the market and hopefully will pick up some prizemoney,” said David Mourad of Blueblood Thoroughbreds who purchased Unite The Stars at the Inglis Scone Yearling Sale for $8000.

“She was a cheap horse. If she can win and get that bonus, she’s well ahead. She’s by Unite And Conquer, who we raced and he was our first stallion off to stud. She’s our first runner by him, so she’s a little bit special for us.”