Leading Southern District apprentice jockey John Kissick continued on his winning ways, taking out the first two races before finishing a close second in the third.

The Griffith-born hoop has been in sensational form in the past year, and with his eyes on winning the country apprentice title, his two wins on Saturday will do his chances no harm at all.

He piloted the Robert Linnell-trained Viva La Show ($3.60) to a 1.5-length win in the Carrathool Family Hotel maiden plate, before upsetting the punters by saluting the judges aboard the $13 outsider Castlebar in the second for the day.

Griffith trainer Gino D'Altorio also has reason to smile as Noire Belle ($7) scored the most impressive win on the day in the Grainlink Benchmark 50 handicap (1200m), which denied Kissick the chance to win the first three on the day.

D'Altorio beamed about Noire Belle's performance in the mounting yard after the race.

"I always thought she could run like that, so I was very happy with her performance today (Saturday)," D'Altorio said.

"We're not really sure what we're going to do with her, maybe take her down to Balranald."

But the real winner was the town itself as more than 1000 race-goers flooded the track and its surrounds for the first race meeting in three years. Three times the race day has been cancelled due to a deluge during the lead-up, with the patronage in 2008 affected due to a heat wave.

Carrathool Jockey Club president Mick Armstrong said it was just good to be back in business given the club's recent bad history.

"We're just happy to be having a race day after our luck in the past couple of years," Armstrong said.

"But if you look around there's people packed in around the betting ring and more people are coming in so things are only just getting started.

"So people are spending up at the bookies and at the bar and the racing has been pretty good as well, so it's been a great day."