HORSE RACING
By LIAM DURKIN
MOE Racing Club welcomed inspiring dual cancer survivor Kate Gale as guest speaker to its Sunday meeting at the weekend.
The former Sale local spoke candidly about her cancer journey, as part of the racing club’s pink race day, raising money for Latrobe Regional Health.
Kate was living her best life as a loving wife, proud mother and hairdresser when her world was flipped upside down, diagnosed with breast cancer at just 27-years-of-age.
What followed was months of treatment and setbacks. While Kate ultimately won her initial battle, tragedy struck again – not once, but twice.
Just as life was returning to normal, her husband Bob was diagnosed with renal cancer, and Kate later heard the words ‘you have cancer’ again when results showed she had leukaemia.
Rather than wallow in self-pity, Kate has instead used her experience as a means to inspire – just as she did for the 200-strong crowd at Moe Racing Club’s Turfside Function Centre who heard her story.
Kate hoped her message of remaining positive, even in life’s most challenging moments, shone through.
“Everybody has been touched by cancer at some point in time. To be able to spread my story and give everybody a little bit of an insight into what I’ve been through, that others can fight and keep going,” she said.
“Positivity will get you a long, long way. Whatever happens to you doesn’t define you, you can make your own way through life with a positive mindset.”
While Kate had to put the hairdressing scissors down some years ago, she is now actively involved in public speaking, writing (two books published, with a third on the way) and through her work as a celebrant.
Latrobe Regional Health Chief Executive Don McRae and board chair Linda McCoy listened to Kate’s address, and were on hand as Moe Racing Club Chief Executive Cassandra Rendell and chairman Mike Vanderfeen handed over a cheque after the last race.
The club raised a staggering $25,690 through fundraising efforts and donations.
McRae wished to thank the racing club for their wondrous support.
“It was really heart-warming for me to hear our guest speaker Kate Gale talk about the need to have care closer to home, and this is what this day is all about – raising money so we can improve the services so we can keep more people in Gippsland to have their care,” he said.
“It’s terrific support we’ve been getting from the Moe Racing Club. We’re really pleased to be part of a community event like this because that’s why we exist – to serve the community.
“To be out there and mixing with them on a great day like today has been a real privilege.”
Pink was featured during the seven-card meeting, with horses and jockey’s chosen in each race to don the pink silks and saddle cloth.
Perfect conditions saw racing take place on a Good 4, under a sun that had some serious bite to it later in the day.
The Trafalgar stable of Paul and Tracey Templeton had a solid meeting, collecting three placings.
Traralgon jockey Thomas Stockdale also rode a third in Race 4 and second in the feature Race 5.
The stable headed by Bill Papazaharoudakis won the feature race – the Gippsland Cancer Care Centre Cup 0-56 Handicap over 2050 metres, when six-year-old mare Women in Uniform narrowly got up on the inside.
Other winners were: Blaze Away for Claire Patterson (Race 1 Get Your Finance 3YO Maiden Plate, 1100 metres), Torvega/Greg Eurelll (Race 2 Wilson Property 4YO+ Maiden Plate, 1100m), Nile Crocodile/Melissa Wells (Race 3 Wedlease Used Car Special Ballot Maiden Plate, 1600m), Tight Grip/Nevin Eades (Race 4 Gippsland Motor Group 0-56 Handicap, 1600m), Sleeping Tiger/Rebecca Waymouth (Race 6 Martin Cameron MP 0-56 Handicap, 1000) and Bedtime Angel/John Moloney (Race 7 Traralgon Centre Plaza BM56 Handicap, 1200m).
The meeting also acted as something of a test run to this year’s Moe Cup, which has been moved from its traditional Thursday/Friday slot to a Sunday.
If the weekend just gone was any indication as to how receptive people are to a marquee Sunday meeting, it could be a bumper Moe Cup coming up on November 16.
The first Gippsland cup will be held this Sunday at Sale Turf Club.
