The Bathurst Gold Crown carnival will always remain a special event for harness racing trainer John Tapp.
When Chariot King won the 2009 Gold Crown, the victory provided Tapp with his first group one win as a trainer, an achievement he could never have imagined when he first became involved with harness racing many years ago.
It has been seven years since Tapp has competed at the Bathurst carnival but after his two fillies, Rockonbye and Celebrity Look qualified for Saturday's Gold Tiara, he is hoping to add another group one feature to his impressive training record.
"The two different fillies have two vastly different stories, Rockonbye is owned by a syndicate of ten people, has been the most laid back two-year-old filly I have ever had but I can see her starting to change and the penny might have dropped with her while Celebrity Look is owned and raced by Fran Hausfeld and is a true professional," Tapp said.
Rockonbye was purchased at the 2015 Australian Pacing Gold Yearling Sales for $17,000 by Tapp and he quickly went about selling shares in the daughter of Rocknroll Hanover.
"I got caught in the euphoria for the sons and daughters of Rocknroll Hanover, every trainer was trying to buy them and when she came into the ring she just had this great presence about her, it was like a calmness and a strut you would expect from a broodmare not a yearling walking into a sales ring.'
"Seven of her ten owners were members of my tour to the Little Brown Jug in 2014.'
'We all sat down one evening towards the end of the tour and someone suggested we form a syndicate so I went to the sale, looking for something that might suit them."
'Another of Rockonbye's owners is Peter Welsh, the major shareholder in Chariot King.'
"Peter hasn't been in a horse since Chariot King so it was nice to see him get involved again and my horse dentist Alan Griffis is another one of the owners in her," John said
Rockonbye will be driven by Rebecca Brown on Saturday night in the Gold Tiara.
Brown was given the option of driving either filly after she drove them both in their respective heats and will be competing in her first group one race.
"Rebecca has made massive improvements as a driver and importantly her best asset is that she is unflappable especially when she's in a bit of traffic."
" I gave Bec the choice and informed Jim Douglass he would be driving the other filly."
"Jimmy has become my stable driver over the years and drove Chariot King to several wins and he will suit Celebrity Look," John said.
Tapp is hoping Celebrity Look can repeat the effort of her great grandmother Wiling Whiz after she won the Gold Tiara in 1988.
Both Celebrity Look and Willing Whiz finished second in their Tiara heats.
"Dennis Wilson drove Willing Whiz to victory, I'm not sure if this has happened before in the Tiara but it would be an interesting piece for the history buffs."
"I hope Celebrity Look runs a great race for Fran Hausfeld, she is a wonderful lady who has bred and raced dozens of horses."
"Fran rang me out of the blue one day and told me she had two yearlings, she wanted to race one herself and lease one out to some friends of mine."
"Fran was very adamant that I decide which of the yearlings was better and that I lease the better one to my friends and she would race the other. It was a wonderful offer from Fran and it would be great to see her rewarded," John said
The other yearling was a colt by Somebeachsomewhere who was named Secluded Beach and he competed in a heat of the Gold Crown on Saturday night.
When asked to split his pair, Tapp reluctantly sided with Rockonbye.
"Rockonbye might have the edge on Celebrity Look, I gave Rockonbye a hopple up on Sunday and she's always been half asleep in her track work but last weekend she was totally different, I actually thought I might have harnessed up the wrong horse!
"The penny has really dropped with Rockonbye, but to get two fillies into the Tiara is a great result for the small team who work with me."
"My stable foreman Ross Adams has done a lot of work with both of the fillies, his expertise, skill and judgement have been vital to their results."
"My wife Ann continues to be a great help and Katie McGill has been helping out four days a week while at university."
"It really has been a team effort," John said.
Greg Hayes