No barrier to community support

Get your backside, trackside.

That’s’ the message from the Bowen Turf Club and the Whitsunday Coast Guardian as they team up for the first time ever to present the Whitsunday Cup race meeting at Bowen’s Ben Bolt Park on Saturday, June 9.

Bowen Turf Club president Cyril Vains said he was delighted the Guardian had pledged its support for a race meeting that encompasses all communities throughout the Whitsundays.

“It’s important we take the Whitsunday Cup to the next level which means a greater regional focus. By partnering with the Guardian, the Bowen Turf Club has the opportunity to market itself in places like Airlie Beach and Proserpine and that’s an opportunity we’ve jumped at,” Mr Vains said.

Whitsunday Coast Guardian owner manager Peter Lewis said it was a win-win for both parties.

“The Whitsunday Cup race day presented itself as a great opportunity for us to connect with those who love racing, fashion and a fun time here in the Whitsundays. It’s a known fact a lot of people here go to Bowen for the races and I believe our association with the Bowen Turf Club will result in a great day,” Mr Lewis said.

Earlier this week, Guardian editor Peta Keegan called in at the turf club to discuss the finer details of the race day with president Vains.

Bowen trainer Andrew Cameron was on the track with Gallant Hawk who will be starting in the June 9 event.

“Gallant Hawk has won four races … three in Brisbane and one on the Gold Coast. He also ran a really good fourth at Townsville recently,” said the trainer of the locally owned horse.

Ms Keegan said she had been interested in horse racing and rodeos since she was a little girl listening to her mother’s stories about riding in rodeos, years before females were even allowed in the arena.

“Mum tells a story where she rode pretending to be her brother. They were close to the same age and same build when mum was a teenager so no one could really tell the difference. I am not much of a rider myself but there’s something about the smell of the feed in the stables, the anticipation of the trainers, and the buzz of the punters around the old fashioned bookies that entices me to the races whether it’s around Tumut where I grew up to Townsville recently with my sister,” she said.

As part of the promotion, a number of sponsors have come on board and readers also stand a chance to win a weekend away to a luxury seaside retreat.

Magistrate fines Cyril Vains for punching Whitsundays mayor

Bowen Turf Club president Cyril Vains has been slapped with a $500 fine for punching mayor Mike Brunker in the nose.

 The long-running saga came to a close in Bowen Magistrates Court on Friday after the carpark punch-up at last year’s running of the Ben Bolt Cup on August 8.

 Punters got more excitement than expected as the high-profile pair swapped insults and punches after a dispute over political advertising hoardings.

 The dispute led news broadcasts and newspaper headlines across the country as one of the ‘highlights’ of a dreary Federal election campaign.

 Mr Brunker, Whitsunday Regional Council mayor and Labor aspirant for the seat of Dawson, went to the track to boost his profile and left after a Vains’ punch ‘popped the blackheads on his nose’.

 After a number of adjournments from December when the charge was first listed to be heard until Vains pleaded not guilty to common assault during a two-day hearing in May, the matter reached a finale when magistrate Ross Risson gave his findings on Friday.

 He did not accept Vains’ version of events on the day and acceded to a call from defence counsel Alex Raeburn not to record a conviction saying a lack of remorse was not a factor to apply one.

 Mr Risson said he accepted evidence heard during a two-day trial in May that Vains threw the first punch to Mr Brunker’s nose with the mayor then retaliating.

 “You were foolish, in my view, to call Mr Brunker outside when security could have removed Mr Brunker and his signs,” Mr Risson told the 70-year-old defendant on Friday.

 “You have been the subject of wide media coverage and no doubt will be again after today.”

 The magistrate took his seat on the bench at noon and spent the next 25 minutes outlining his decision before announcing he rejected Vains’ version.

 Prosecutor Mark Fenlon made a five-minute speech saying a good behaviour bond was out of the question as Vains had shown no remorse or contrition.

 He said taxpayers had been put through the costs of a two-day hearing. Vains had already been charged, found guilty and suspended by Queensland Racing authorities, Mr Fenlon said.

 He said a conviction would not have any affect on Vain’s chances of getting a job as he was 70 and retired.

 Mr Raeburn countered saying going to trial was everyone’s right and did not mean a heavier penalty should be imposed.

 “He’s 70, has no criminal record and I ask for a bond with no conviction recorded,” Mr Raeburn said.

 “There was no bodily harm….the blow was not sufficient to knock his (Brunker’s) hat off.”

 Mr Raeburn said Vains had already been penalised by Queensland Racing, was disqualified from his job for three months and not allowed to go on any track during that time.

 He said a conviction could have implications for the turf club’s liquor licence.

 Mr Raeburn said Vains tried to settle the matter through mediation but Mr Brunker would not agree.

 He also held up a thick folder of newspaper clippings which he said Vains had had to “suffer” as the story unfolded from the punch-up in the carpark last August and which would increase following Friday’s sentencing.

 Mr Risson fined Vains $500 to be paid within two months or he would serve eight days in jail. No conviction was recorded.

Mayor Mike Brunker and Cyril Vains in court over alleged assault

 Whitsunday Regional Council mayor Mike Brunker has denied provoking a fight at the Bowen races last August, which made headlines across the nation.

 “I’m not a fighter,” Mr Brunker told defence barrister Terry Collins yesterday.

 Mr Collins is appearing for Cyril Alfred Vains, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of common assault.

 During the first day yesterday of an anticipated three-day hearing, Mr Brunker was the first in a long line of witnesses due to be called.

 Mr Brunker told Bowen Magistrates Court yesterday he’d gone to the Ben Bolt Cup meeting last August both to have a day out and be seen by racegoers as he was the Labor candidate at last year’s election.

 He’d placed signs at the track’s carpark and the entry gates and was having a beer with council deputy Rogin Taylor and his campaign manager, when Vains told him to remove the signs and leave the track.

 An argument followed during which he called Vains a “dog” and a “low, mongrel dog” but didn’t consider that serious abuse.

 Mr Brunker also said that Vains called him a liar and a thief, terms he was familiar with during his long time in politics and which no longer upset him.

 He said Vains three times challenged him to a fight but he put his hands on his hips and tried to reason with his protagonist.

 Going to the carpark after he’d been banned, Mr Brunker said Vains again challenged him to a fight, and “king hit” (got the first punch in), “making me see stars and popping the blackheads on my nose”.

 However, the blow wasn’t forceful enough to knock the hat off his head, Mr Brunker said.

 Mr Brunker said he’d swung his arms around in an effort at self-protection and couldn’t say whether he connected with Vains’ face and couldn’t comment on how Vains sustained a graze to his nose.

 “I had no intention of fighting. I went to the races to enjoy myself and have a punt,” Mr Brunker said.

 The hearing is continuing.