THINGS are hotting up at Morgan Park Raceway with round one of the CAMS Queensland Motor Racing Championships this weekend.

CAMS is the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport and you don't do too much in the sport without their approval.

This weekend, 16-year-old Warwick driver Matt Campbell will compete in a Formula Ford.

Just like at the drags, they start early in motor racing.

Massive prize money

I was interested to read Brian Russell's comments on the Scone Cup Carnival on May 13-14 which has total prize money of $1.7 million for its Friday and Saturday race meetings.

The Saturday meeting will take the place of a normal Sydney meeting.

There are eight races each day.

Russell reports that the two days of racing are the biggest highlight of the annual Scone and Upper Hunter Horses Festival on April 28-May 15, one that celebrates the region's role as Australia's Horse Capital.

He stated that the first thoroughbred stallion to stand in the Upper Hunter was believed to be Crawford, a horse installed at Segenhoe in 1826.

Scone might be Australia's Horse Capital but Warwick is registered as the Horse Power Capital of Australia.

Late last month, every one of 11 winners at a race meeting in Singapore was bred in Australia, including some by Lyndhurst (Warwick) sires.

Racing boost

Great to see the Warwick Turf Club has been allocated up to $150,000 to recover from the floods of December and January.

Volunteers, including committee members, have the running rail back up for the March 19 Killarney Cup Race Meeting.

I don't know if it is right to call them buzz words, but health and safety are so much a part of life now that the club could not hold a meeting until the new running rail was in town and installed.

The grass track, like most fields, came out of the floods pretty well, and you could have raced on it a few weeks ago.

With Killarney being a little hub for horse owners and trainers, it is great to see the town prepared to support, through sponsorship and crowd numbers, its own race meeting each year.

Success for Melody

One of the most successful jockeys at Allman Park in recent times had the best day of her career last Saturday at Clifford Park in Toowoomba.

Melody O'Brien rode a double and was among a dominant group of female jockeys who won five of the six-race card.

After the meeting, O'Brien said it was her first double at a prov-incial meeting although she has ridden doubles in the bush, including Warwick.

Raheen on a winner

GOING on the opinion of Brian Russell, Raheen Stud Gladfield is on a winner with Captain Sonador.

Russell said three performances at Randwick in the past year suggested Captain Sonador, the handsome four-year-old stallion by one of the world's top young sires, Shamardal, which is booked to start his career as a sire next season at the Basil Nolan family's Raheen Stud at Gladfield, has good prospects of taking out the Doncaster Handicap on April 16.

Victory would give Captain Sonador the rare feat of winning both the Epsom (spring) and the Doncaster (autumn) –Sydney's two greatest mile races.