Gippsland trotter Cruisin Around has been declared the Australian Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt/Gelding of the Year on the back of a stellar season of harness racing.
The young horse captured the Breeders Crown Final, Vicbred Super Series Final and the Holmfield Classic for local horseman Michael Hughes and a syndicate of owners.
All told, the Bacardi Lindy gelding collected eight wins and three placings from 14 starts for stakemoney of $123,310 last season.
Australian Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding of the Year for the recently completed season is the Gippsland bred, New Zealand trained Our Waikiki Beach.
In his second season of racing, Our Waikiki Beach won 11 races with one placing from 12 starts, including the Breeders Crown and New South Wales Derby Finals.
The horse was only beaten once during the season – in fact that was his only defeat so far when he took on the older horses in Sydney.
Our Waikiki Beach won the Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding of the Year title in 2015.
Former local Jodi Quinlan trains Illawong Byron, declared Australian Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt/Gelding of the Year for 2015/2016.
Further award success may come for local harness racing over coming weeks, with the Victorian industry awards to be announced in early November.
Kyle Galley