Following several years without race meetings being held at Trangie, it was a welcome return of the sport of kings last Saturday with Dubbo trainer Connie Greig dominating with wins in four of the five races on the program, including the Robinson Grain Trading Macquarie Picnic Cup with her entry, “The Bentley”.

In this race, “Cooma Hut” (with Skye Regan on the $2.20 favourite) established a seven-lengths’ lead but was eventually run down and beaten by a long neck by The Bentley (with Leandro Ribeiro at $2.60), while “Hemsted” (with Amber Collins at $6) almost six-lengths away in third.

A leading picnic race specialist, Ribeiro also won on the Greig-trained “Trigoso” (at $3) which tracked the leaders before beating “Geewiz Johnny” (with Tamsin Gough at $13) and “The Drafter” ( with Ricky Blewitt at $15) in the 1100-metres Inland Petroleum Class One Trophy Handicap.

Amber Collins was in the saddle on the other Connie Greig winners, “You Count” in the 800-metres Elders Trangie-Aaron Pearce Transport and Seed Cleaning Conditional Picnic Handicap, and on “Taxonomy” in the Nutrien Warren Class B Handicap.

You Count (at $3) gained an inside run to go past “Western Eagle” (with Zara Lewis at $21) and “Monkey Rat” (with Ashley Boyd at $6), with the betting prices subject to deductions for three late scratchings, while Taxonomy (at $3.20) took a rails run to beat “Bawnaglen” (Ashley Boyd on the $1.50 favourite) and “Talistiana” (with Ricky Blewitt at $2.80).

The seven-year-old gelding “Obsessive Nature” is also proving one of the best weight carriers for many years in the central west and humped a massive 76kg to win the Rebel Ag & Hilder Haulage Open Trophy Handicap.

Trained at Parkes by Sharon Jeffries, Obsessive Nature at the previous picnic wins, had carried 74kg at Bedgerabong and 75kg at Condobolin while, between those results, was a winner in a Professional Benchmark 58 Handicap at Grenfell.

Now the winner of 10 races, Obsessive Nature (with Ashley Boyd on the $2.70 favourite) finished gamely at Trangie to wear down the leader “Mr Pointer” (with Tamsin Gough at $7) in the last couple of strides to win by a long neck with “Dao Sun” (with Skye Regan at $3.80) in third place.

Attention now focuses on Cobar on Saturday, August 22, the last meeting on the picnic circuit where horses can earn points to qualify for the 1000 and 1400-metre $50,000 Picnic Championship Finals.