Naturally, the focus will be on the the local scene first, which, in my opinion, was more compelling than the predictable national and international seasons.
That should be no surprise, because we have as much talent here as anywhere else and southerners have certainly made their mark this year.
On the thoroughbred side of things, one of the highlights was marvelling at the class and pure grit Tommy Tucker brought to the races.
In his Timaru Cup, Easter Cup and Canterbury Gold Cup wins he carried significantly more weight than his rivals. Instead of it giving them a chance, Tommy handed them thrashings and they had no excuses. As Tommy’s career continued to thrive, so too did that of his rider, Jacob Lowry. The apprentice’s strike rate in the saddle this season is phenomenal and he has made his mark on the national jockeys’ table.
Of the country’s fulltime flat riders, only Opie Bosson has a better winning strike rate. That’s impressive stuff — and a timely reminder of how the South’s talents stack up. We just do it down here without the bright lights and the bulldust they have up north.
Honorable mentions also need to go to Coulee, who was all class in her campaign, and, of course, the South’s leading trainers, Brian and Shane Anderton, who prepared her and Tommy Tucker.
On the harness front, the highlight was the season of sensational performances by Eamon Maguire. He may have started the season as a speed machine, but he ended it with tough staying performances to win the Southern Supremacy Stakes Final at Ascot Park and then made his mark nationally with a brilliant third in the New Zealand Derby at Addington.
His Westwood Beach trainer, Graeme Anderson, continues to pump out winners at a great rate. While we are talking trainers,
the feat of Oamaru trainer Phil Williamson in training his 500th trotting winner was another case of southerners leading the way on the national stage.
Having two history-makers regularly competing on our local tracks is something that’s a highlight each season for me, but particularly this one.
We are lucky enough to have champion reinsman Dexter Dunn display his freakish talents at nearly every Forbury Park meeting.
He is the youngest driver by decades to win his 2000th race in New Zealand and he did it setting a national record for wins in a season.
On the thoroughbred side, it is hard not to marvel at the same sort of talent Chris Johnson displayed on our back door this season.
Like Dunn, Johnson has a unique and unforgettable style of his own as he plies his trade with class.
Though it will not rate among his most heralded wins, his ride on Hot Date at Wingatui in an unassuming $8000 midweek race stands out for me. It was the coolest of rides that saved every inch of ground and every drop of the horse’s energy. On the biggest of stages, Lazarus provided another highlight for the South.
The 4yr-old Otago-bred was simply phenomenal in his New Zealand Cup win, which ranks as one of the best performances in the great race.
The rise of galloper Gingernuts to the top level was the standout among the country’s best performers. His is a classic story — an inexpensive horse and an underdog who defies the odds to become a star. He is not owned by a farmer or a no-name battler. His is a new-age tale of how the big players offer small syndicate shares to get large numbers of people involved in a horse.I must mention two more things.
One was attending this season’s Cox Plate in Australia and getting to see the absolute phenomenon that is Winx. That was the icing on the cake, because simply watching her from afar is the ultimate for any racing fan.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has helped make the Otago Daily Times the country’s leading source of local racing news.
To all the trainers, drivers, jockeys, owners, breeders and administrators who have given up their time and the readers, especially those who have sent in feedback, thank you all very much.
Please feel free to email me your season highlights.
Happy trails.
