Northerly Orr Stakes over 1,400 metres at Caulfield and victory in the St George Stakes at the same venue a fortnight later, but Old Comrade came with a well-timed run to win the Cup in a boilover. After a tough campaign, with very little rest and stretching from August to March, Fred Kersley decided to give Northerly a good spell in the lead-up to his spring campaign. After beginning his campaign in an unsuitably short sprint in Perth, Northerly arrived in Melbourne for the Memsie Stakes, but tried to bite one of his rivals, Fields Of Omagh, and was unplaced. Backing
The Racecourse, Northampton week, the Racecourse sits adjacent to a park campus by the University of Northampton locally known as Avenue Campus and is used regularly by students. The Umbrella Fair Cafe and The Medieval Restaurant are both in the Listed Pavilion Building. Car parking is situated adjacent to the building and public toilet inside. There are playgrounds, a basketball court and a bowling green situated nearby. Often blamed for its proximity to the town centre by authorities, the Racecourse has attracted a reputation as an area with high crime levels. On 22 June 1997 22-year-old Ryan McEwen King was sexually assaulted and