Rooney, who lives at Dederang, labelled Albury, Wodonga, Wangaratta and Benalla “pathetic” and “almost embarrassing” in their hospitality to trainers and owners and said they should learn a lesson from their smaller counterpart.

“Dederang has to be praised for the way we were looked after,” Rooney said.

“They had fridges there absolutely stacked with sandwiches and cold drinks and they had people on hand to help all day.

“Albury, Wodonga, Benalla and Wangaratta are pathetic in that regard.

“It’s almost embarrassing when we get trainers from outside the area coming to those clubs.”

Rooney also praised the club’s photo finish equipment, despite narrowly losing a race he thought he had won.

The judge used the camera to rule Rooney-trained gelding Jayar’s Toy ($6) finished second, a nose behind fading front-runner Saracen ($4.40), in the $2000 Jim Walters Memorial Maiden Hcp (1000m).

“I thought I’d won it, we all did, but I looked at the photo and there was no doubt about it,” Rooney said.

“For a picnic club to have photo finish equipment there is absolutely fantastic.”

Wodonga trainer Liz Aalbers, who won the Dederang Cup with retiring seven-year-old Firetime, also lauded the hospitality at Dederang.

“It was a pleasure to go up there,” she said.

“They really do look after you.”

Meanwhile, Rooney hopes six-year-old gelding Murtoa can give wife Jeanette the perfect birthday present at Wangaratta today.

Murtoa will contest the $12,000 Adrian Park Agistment Hcp (1600m) after running third at Wodonga on Boxing Day.

More Dederang Cup stories and pictures — page 18.