Rohan Hillier might not win the driver's premiership this season but it will still go down as one of his best harness racing seasons.
With four meetings remaining till the end of the 2016-17 season Hillier has accrued 68 winners courtesy of his haul of four last Sunday night but he is a dozen wins behind joint leaders Gareth and Todd Rattray who have been level pegging in the race for the title for the past six weeks.
Hillier won aboard Svensson for trainer Brent Parish; Chirac for trainer John Castles and he guided his own two-year-old Run Wick to a comfortable victory in the $10,000 Island Block and Paving Golden Slipper.
But clearly his best drive was aboard his gelding Im Barney Rubble that had to come from well back and held up turning for home to weave a passage through the field to score a brilliant win.
It was Im Barney Rubble's first win in 11 starts but it was the weakest field he had met since notching back-to-back wins over the Christmas-New Year period.
The Rattray brothers snared two wins apiece to keep them level pegging which was a great result for Todd who had had the number of drives that Gareth had on the marathon 12-race card.
Leading trainer Ben Yole had a modest night at the office snaring only one winner to move to 112 for the season and six off the all time record of 118 that was set by Neville Webberley in the 1990-91 season.
Peter Staples