BROADMEADOW'S newest bookmaker, Brent Armitage, is well equipped to help any punters overcome by the excitement of a win or the disappointment of a loss at Newcastle tomorrow.
That is because Armitage, 28, has another job outside the rough and tumble of the betting ring, as a paramedic.
Armitage is stationed at Mascot, in Sydney, during the week and tries his luck in the toughest of market places at the weekend.
He kicked off at Broadmeadow last Saturday and is keen to return this week.
"It was an exciting day," Armitage said. "I have wanted to go out on my own as a bookmaker for a while now and I can't wait to work again at Broadmeadow.
"I have been a paramedic for a few years but I have also been working for a corporate bookmaker and my dad has been with leading bookmaker Con Kafataris for many years.
"I suppose watching him working in the betting ring fired me up to have a go."
Armitage has been able to combine his job with the ambulance service with his passion to stand up in the betting ring and take on the punters.
"I have been able to work my rosters to get the time to get to Newcastle when they race on a Saturday," he said.
¦ Newcastle Knights rugby league club assistant coach Andrew Dunemann has a couple of different but exciting sporting assignments next week.
Dunemann is helping to guide the Knights under head coach Rick Stone this year.
He will be part of the team's battle to beat Brisbane in a crucial NRL game next Friday night.
He will head to Sydney the next day to be part of the cheer squad for exciting galloper Spirit Of Boom, which he part-owns, in the Up and Coming Stakes.
Spirit Of Boom, which is trained by Tony Gollan at Toowoomba, finished fourth in the San Domenico Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.
Dunemann played 20 games for the Gold Coast Chargers in 1994 and went on to play 251 matches with stints at North Queensland, South Sydney, Halifax, Leeds and Salford before retiring after a couple of games with Canberra in 2007.
It was in 1999, when he was playing for South Sydney, that he ventured down the road that led him to racing Spirit Of Boom.
Spirit Of Boom, a $90,000 purchase, has already returned about $250,000.
Dunemann also races the colt's older brother Temple Of Boom.
"When I was at Souths, Tony Gollan came down from Toowoomba to try out and we became friends," Dunemann said.
"Tony went home and started training and a mate of ours, Jeremy Schloss, said that Gollan had a horse that we might be interested in.
"We took Temple Of Boom, for which we paid $40,000, and when the younger half-brother by Sequalo was at the Magic Millions sales we picked up Spirit Of Boom for $90,000.
"It has been a real thrill watching them race and we are hoping that Spirit Of Boom can go better than he did in the San Domenico when he runs in the Up And Coming Stakes.
"Jimmy Cassidy rode the horse and he gave him a good wrap, so I am hoping he could win us a nice race in Sydney this preparation."
¦ Former champion Newcastle mare Samantha Miss has become a mother.
The excitement machine, which took Australian racing by storm under the care of Kris Lees at Broadmeadow, has given birth to her first foal, a filly by star sire More Than Ready. The filly will have a lot to live up to when she makes it to the racetrack.
Samantha Miss won group 1 races such as the VRC Oaks, Flight Stakes and Champagne Stakes.
She was third in a Cox Plate.
Samantha Miss was five days late foaling and gave birth around midnight on Wednesday.
"The foal is a good size and a lovely type," Duncan Grimley, racing manager for owner John Singleton, said.
Singleton paid $3.85 million for Samantha Miss at the broodmare sales in Sydney last year.
¦ It will be interesting to see what tie Queensland trainer John Wallace is sporting when he watches his star, Shoot Out, running in the JJ Liston Stakes in Melbourne tomorrow.
When Wallace was the centre of attention after Shoot Out won first-up in the Bletchingly Stakes he was proudly wearing a Newcastle Jockey Club tie.
¦ Newcastle trainer Paul Perry had a special reason to buy the yearling that won last Saturday under the name of Newcast.
The three-year-old was impressive at his second start, winning a maiden event over 1400 metres at Broadmeadow.
Newcast, which had run fifth on debut at Newcastle, was a $13 chance when he powered to the line to win by a short neck in a performance that showed he is going to be even better over more ground.
And with good reason.
As Newcast was winning at Newcastle, his relative, star Broadmeadow stayer Newport, which has run 10th in two straight Melbourne Cups, was kicking off his preparation aimed at the Newcastle Cup by running in the Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
The dams of Newcast and Newport are half-sisters.
"I bought Newcast, because he is such a nice type and he's related to Newport," Perry said.
"The way he won at just his second start was great and he has a lot of improvement in him."
Perry was more than happy with Newport and Prince Braeman, which finished fourth in the Missile Stakes.
He said Prince Braeman was on course for a shot at the $150,000 group 3 Cameron Handicap (1300m) on September 15 and Newport was on target for the $185,000 Newcastle Cup (2300m) the following day.
"Both will will run on Saturday week and I could not be happier with them," Perry said.
¦ Wyong will stage its first nine-event program today since their cup day meeting last September.
"We thought that it would be doing the right thing by the industry to have an extra race tomorrow," Wyong Race Club chief executive officer Tony Drew said yesterday.
"With so many meetings being washed out lately we have had plenty of entries and we are trying to give as many horses a run as possible."
One of the most interesting runners at Wyong today is Spirited Princess in race one.
Spirited Princess was with successful South Australian trainer Phillip Stokes when third in a group 3 Breeders Stakes.
She will turn up in a maiden at Wyong today and is now trained by Rosehill's Chris Waller.
Another highly anticipated starter at Wyong is She's Number One, which is in race two.
She's Number One, whose large ownership from the TAB's Number One Club includes former Australian Test cricketer Michael Slater, ran second to Obsequious in a trial.
Obsequious scored a brilliant win in the San Domenico Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.
¦ Gosford Race Club may have found a way to pay for their effort to install a $5 million lighting system so they can stage a four-month night racing season.
The story goes that the club has sold all the land they own next to Gosford Racecourse.
¦ Stabletalk's spy in the catering department at racecourses has come up with a very interesting titbit about the eating habits of two young jockeys.
"Those Berry boys [Tommy and Nathan] are chipoholics," our spy reports.
"Both the twins just devour the chips when we bring them in."
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