When Count De Rupee walks into the barriers as favourite for the $1 million The Gong on Saturday, it will mark the conclusion to a stunning spring for Kembla Grange trainers.
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The stables have collectively enjoyed one of the most successful periods in years.
Kerry Parker's star gelding Think It Over has dominated the Sydney middle-distance scene. The six-year-old won four from six this prep, including the Group 2 Hill Stakes and collected almost $2.7 million in prizemoney.
The sport's biggest races, including the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and potentially even the Melbourne Cup, beckon in the next 12 months.
Robert and Luke Price have also enjoyed unprecedented success. Boom filly Jamaea claimed the Group 2 Furious Stakes before she took on the boys in the Group 1 Golden Rose, running a gallant eighth.
Count De Rupee then picked up where she left off, finishing third in the Silver Eagle, second in the Golden Eagle and is now considered the one to beat in Saturday's The Gong.
The success has flowed through to the next tier of horses, Parker's Tampering winning two Midway races this prep while Theresa Bateup's Divine Breath finished third in the first running of the Four Pillars.
The trainer also enjoyed a breakthrough win at Randwick on Melbourne Cup day, The Guru saluting in a BenchMark 72.
It's a period of success that has fostered a sense of camaraderie and healthy competition.
"Kembla Grange has really shone over the last 12 months," Luke Price said. "There's good, friendly competition. Everyone gets in and helps each other out."
Bateup concurred with that view and acknowledged the success of her fellow trainers has pushed her to pursue similar results in the city.
"Competition is a good thing," Bateup said. "It makes you keep pushing yourself and raising the bar.
"At the same time, if we get improvement in the facilities at Kembla Grange it's only good for us and our owners and our horses. It helps us be competitive in town."
The recent success of Kembla Grange trainers brings back memories of a previous golden era. A time when Bede Murray was considered a giant in the training ranks.
The late trainer presided over the likes of Victory Vein, Universal Prince and Half Hennessy, the trio winning seven Group 1 races between them.
While Bede passed in 2016, his sons Paul and Graeme continue to carry the family legacy.
For Paul, it's hard to compare the recent success with that of his father 20 years ago, but he is confident the region's trainers have shown they can match it with the sport's biggest stables.
"We've all grown up with horses all our lives," Paul said. "Rob and Luke, Kerry, Gwenda, every trainer has come through with horses.
"The hardest thing is when you're young, owners don't want to give you a chance. Some of these trainers were too young to compete. Now they're getting a bit older, they're starting to get recognised."
On top of experience, Murray points to one other crucial factor in the region's success. The launch of the artificial polytrack in 2019.
The new surface narrowed the gap between the facilities at Kembla Grange and other Sydney and provincial tracks and ensured Illawarra trainers were able to work their horses year-round.
As a result, runners aren't missing out on vital gallops during periods of heavy rainfall.
The importance of the polytrack became clear in March when unprecedented levels of rain fell throughout Sydney and the Illawarra.
Kerry Parker cited the surface as crucial to his decision to run Think It Over in the George Ryder, the gelding ultimately winning the Group 1 race.
"Now we've got the new polytrack here, we can compete with the city trainers," Paul Murray said. "We can work rain, hail or shine.
"That's the biggest bonus that's ever happened at Kembla. Every other time, we were going into bigger races underdone."
The advantages of a provincial base have extended beyond the polytrack throughout the past six months.
The introduction of $100,000 Midway races every Saturday provides Kembla Grange trainers with an opportunity to race in the city on a regular basis in a similar manner to the popular Highway series.
Where owners would previously send their horses to country trainers to be eligible for the country-only races, they can now utilise a provincial trainer and remain closer to Sydney.
"Owners are realising the money's still there," Murray said. "You don't have to be in the city to have a city trainer. With the Midways, it's becoming a bit of a bonus now, not racing against Chris Waller every week.
"Owners are getting a chance, they're a lot happier. We're not as dear either, so they can keep their horses in work for longer and it's cheaper for them."
The success in the region hasn't gone unnoticed at the top of the sport.
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys, a proud Wollongong boy himself, has watched on as Kembla Grange horses have featured at Randwick and Rosehill on a regular basis.
The administrator has played a key role in developing facilities in the Illawarra, his organisation funding the construction of the polytrack.
Racing NSW has doubled down on the region, purchasing land around the track to build new stables, V'landys outlining his vision for Kembla Grange in an interview with the Mercury last week.
With the early investment already starting to bear fruit, V'landys is eager to see the trainers thriving in the years to come.
"I'm part of the Wollongong clan, so I'm very proud," V'landys said. "Looking at Count De Rupee nearly winning the Golden Eagle, that's a great feat for Kembla Grange.
"Kembla Grange trainers are underrated. We're going to give them all the training facilities so they can be at the highest level."
Sydney stables have also started to take notice, though the Kembla success has come as no surprise for the likes of Chris Waller.
The trainer has enjoyed a number of memorable battles with Think It Over throughout the spring, both Verry Elleegant and Shared Ambition taking on Parker's star gelding.
While some of his runners were defeated by Kembla horses in recent months, Waller has enjoyed watching Illawarra trainers regularly contest feature races.
"It's certainly not a surprise," Waller said. "I can see 52 weeks of the year how good horsemen they are and how hard they work.
"They don't get the same opportunities that I now get with the better horses coming into my stables, so what they do gets full respect from me."
While Kembla Grange trainers have been thrilled with the strides taken in the past 12 months, there is one key area they all identify as crucial to further success.
Planned upgrades to both the B-track and the course proper.
While the polytrack has been a lifesaver over the last two years, the turf is still sub-standard and capital works that were meant to commence in late 2019 remain delayed. There is no clear timeframe for their commencement.
Illawarra Turf Club chief executive Peter De Vries told the Mercury this week that with COVID now in the rear-view mirror, he's eager to get cracking on the upgrades.
It's work that can't come soon enough for Kembla Grange trainers.
"Those upgrades to the B-grass and course-proper desperately need doing," Bateup said. "At the moment we can't have any extra trainers until we have that work finished.
"We need that to get put on a level playing field with trainers at other tracks."
In many ways, Kembla Grange is shaping as the future of horse training in NSW.
Sydney stables are already overflowing and land is in short supply. As new facilities are built and more trainers move south, the success of the region is only expected to grow.
The current crop of trainers are proud to have laid the foundation for future prosperity and they're looking forward to leading the Illawarra to a position as a key player in the racing industry.
"Kembla Grange is the future," Robert Price said. "We're proud to be on the ground floor and we're in the box seat as the region grows moving forward."
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