Parkes Jockey Club president Alex Prout hopes what's been described as a 'super-rich Maiden race' will help provide a bit of a boost to the local economy this weekend. The club is gearing up for its annual Parkes Gold Cup on Sunday and for the first time it will see the running of an Inglis Xtra Bonus Series race that's incentivised with a $100,000 bonus to the winner. The 1000m Country Boosted Maiden Handicap is open to any horse in country NSW that has never won a race and has the potential to attract trainers from across the state. In total the race could be worth more than $116,000 to the winner. "To put that into perspective, first prizemoney for the Maiden is $16,000 more than finishing third in [the] $1 million Evergreen Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick," Racing NSW reported in an article on its website. Horses entering also need to be an Inglis graduate from 2023 and beyond and paid up for the Inglis Race Series. Alex was thrilled when he heard the news the contest had been announced for Parkes' Cup Day. "It's the first time we're hosting it here," he said. "It's a good incentive for trainers to travel to Parkes from further afield. "It may bring owners as well, all who potentially will stay in town for the event and provide a little economic boost for the town." Inglis Bloodstock’s CEO Sebastian Hutch told Racing NSW he was keen to see the bonuses won by "as many sets of connections as possible". “Through the Inglis Race Series, we wanted to create an opportunity for more people to win more prizemoney more often and the Xtra Bonus Series allows for exactly that,” Hutch told Racing NSW. “The hardest race for a horse to win is their Maiden, so we wanted to give every buyer and owner of an Inglis graduate the opportunity to win extraordinary prizemoney at the entry level of racing. “There is effectively one Maiden a week on average, at different venues – around half of which were in NSW – over different distances ranging from 900m to 2000m giving many of our clients regular chances to win significant money.” Racing NSW also reported an additional $100,000 Inglis Xtra Bonus Series Maiden has also been programmed for Gosford on Thursday, 29 May.
