Hanging Rock has not lost its magic, or its charm, that has attracted racegoers of all ages for generation

The popular racing venue played host to a crowd of just under 5,000 on Australia Day (Sunday), the time honoured Hanging Rock Cup being the feature of a seven race card 

Chief Steward, Terry Bailey, was acting chairman for the occasion; he gave a favourable report on the track and how the meeting was conducted, an orderly crowd with not one inciden

It was the first time a chief steward has attended a race meeting at Hanging Rock in an official capacity, although he is no stranger to country racing, having worked at the majority of courses in New South Wales before coming to Victoria.

The Cup was won by Loukoumi, completing a double for Rick Harrison and Roger Booth; they were associated with Dayton, the winner of the previous race.

After drawing the coveted position on the fence Booth never left the rails on Loukoumi, until it was time to make his winning run when heads were turned for home 

Harrison, who formerly trained at Pakenham, has set the gelding for the Cup on Sunday week when the course will close after 138 years.

Bel Sir looked as if he would win half way up the straight; however, it was obvious he was running short of petrol tickets when challenged by the winner.

The $4.20 favourite, Severn Road, was disappointing, he was well supported on the strength of his second at Morphettville recently, he failed to run on.

The attendance figure of nearly 5,000 is an interesting statistic compared against the crowd at Caulfield the previous day which was 4,231,while half a million live within a five kilometre area of Caulfield, you would be hard put to find 600 people living in the same area at Hanging Rock 

Surely that illustrates the popularity of country racing, its heritage must be protected for the generations that will follow.

Loukoumi defeating Bel Sir in the Hanging Rock Cup