Julia Curley, Saturday morning at the track (DOCO 2023)

I spent a few hours in the very early morning with local Toowoomba racehorse trainer and stable owner, Stephen Kirkwood. A 0230 start time allowed me to peek into the world of these horses and their entourage. A racetrack is a different world at this time of the day. It's dark and still and deathly quiet. Everyone's focus is on the job at hand - unloading horses, getting them ready with a saddle, giving instructions to the riders. I watched the horses go out for their run. Back they come for a hose down and rugs applied. Then onto the truck they go again, homeward bound. It is close to 0500 and the sky is starting to change colour. I loved the moodiness of these shots. The monotone enhanced the story, I think. Such a different vibe to a race day -no punters, no bookies and no pretty silks on jockeys. Just man and beast. Working together as one.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.