The annual Southland Harness Awards Dinner will be held this year on Sunday 12th August at Ascot Park Hotel.
Sponsored by Southern Harness the night will celebrate all the highlights of what’s been a busy season.
Horse of the Year, Broodmare of the Year and the Achievement Award for the 2017-2018 season will be the three most sought after prizes are.
Perhaps the most intriguing, will be the Achievement Award for which there are four nominations; Brent Barclay, Brett Gray, Kenny Baynes and Sheree Tomlinson.
Brent Barclay finished second in this season's Southland Drivers Premiership, just pipped at the post by Nathan Williamson's winning drive at Oamaru today.
Barclay's primary source of winners came from the Brett Gary stable and his season highlights came in driving Full Noise in the $125,000 Group One Two Year Old Ruby at Cambridge for a second placing and in winning the Group Two Alabar Southern Supremacy Stakes with Duke Of Wellington.
His drives amassed $391,737 this season, a personal best since his driving career bagan in 1990.
Brent Barclay
Sheree Tomlinson became the first female driver to win the time honoured Dominion Handicap at Addington in November when she drove her Grandfather's horse Amaretto Sun to win.
The then nineteen year old is also the youngest driver to win the race and just the second junior driver to win the Group One feature; the first being Anthony Butt who won in 1987 driving Simon Katz.
Tomlinson is once again the province's leading junior driver with thirty wins – a personal best.
She also finished third in the National Junior Drivers Premiership.
Sheree Tomlinson
Brett Gray is once again Southland’s leading trainer for the 2017-2018 season.
With thirty four winners it's a personal best for the Ryal Bush trainer. He also trained a Group One place getter in Full Noise which established a Southland and New Zealand record for two year old trotters.
Another trotter from his stable also broke a Southland and New Zealand record. Jen Jaccka’s 3-00.9 for the 2400 metre stand at Winton last September established the new mark for mares.
The $328,628 in stakes the Gray stable won was another PB, and was $100,000 more than his stable won the previous year.
Brett Gray
Murray Brown become a part of a small number of Southland based trainers to train 500 races when Soapbox won at Gore in September. Brown has been training for thirty four years. His first ever win was with Mike Adios on 22nd September 1984.
His most sucessful winner Beaudiene Bad Babe, won twenty two races including a Group Two Caduceus Club of Canterbury Premier Mares Championship twice. (2010 and 2011).
She also won the 2010 Nevele R Stud Four Year Old Diamond at Cambridge and the 2009 Group Two Macca Lodge/Nevele R Southland Oaks Final.
Other good winners for Brown include Freeway Don (11 wins), Awesum Teddy (10 wins), Highview Jude (9 wins), Rimesaut (8 wins) and Mister Dale (8 wins).
Murray Brown
Kenny Baynes, as part of Baynes Racing Limited and in partnership with his wife Jo owned horses that won nineteen races this season.
The President of the Gore Harness Racing Club owned or had a share in War Admiral (3), War Machine (5), Royal Bengal (3), Mucho Macho Man (1), Especial (3), Envious (1), Too Cool (1), Full Noise (1) and Convair Hustler (1). All horses excepting Royal Bengal were trained in Southland.
Baynes had three starters in this season's Harness Jewels; Royal Bengal, Full Noise and War Machine. Full Noise ran second in the $125,000 Two Year Old Ruby.
Kenny Barnes
The Horse of the Year finalist are Duke Of Wellington, Smokey Mac, Somejoy and War Machine.
Duke Of Wellington qualified at the end of October last year and in his first season of racing he started ten times and was in the money each time. He won five races, including his last four, ran second three times, and third and fourth once each.
He ended his season with an impressive win in the $45,000 Group Two Alabar Southern Supremacy Stakes. His season’s earnings were $54,280.
Duke Of Wellington
Somejoy was Southland’s leading mare for the season. She won six races from ten starts and earned her connections $47,230.
She also broke a Southland mares record when she won at Winton in March, running a mile in 1-53.2.
Somejoy
Only ninety five dollars separated the two trotters in the final of Southland Horse of the Year. War Machine started fifteen times for five wins and earned $43,995 while Smokey Mac trained by Brett Gray faced the starter fourteen times for six wins and banked $43,900 for his owners.
Smokey Mac
War Machine
The Broodmare of the Year finalists are Galleons Honour, Jumpforjoy and Righteous Franco.
Galleons Honour owned by Invercargill Lawyer Lester Smith, produced four individual winners in the season under review.
Duke of Wellington led the charge, winning five races, (including his last four), running second three times, and third and fourth once each. He ended his season with a flourish winning the $45,000 Group Two Alabar Southern Supremacy Stakes. His season’s earnings were $54,280.
Venice Beach (renamed My Venice Beach), which Smith sold in March last year has also had a successful season for her dam Galleons Honour. The Somebeachsomewhere mare has won $25,738 for six races this season, and lowered her winning mile time to 1-53.6.
Another of Galleon Honours' foals, Rise Above This won her first start at Winton pacing a mile in 1-58.5.
To cap off the season the mare's only other foal to race this season – Laszlo – (formally Dazed And Confused), also won a race at Globe Derby Park.
The four horses are the mare’s first four foals of racing age. Her next foal also by Somebeachsomewhere, is a yearling.
Jumpforjoy's first foal Somejoy had a very good season. She won six races from ten starts and earned her connections $47,230.
She also broke a Southland mares record when she won at Winton in March running a mile in 1-53.2.
Righteous Franco owned by Gore breeder Pat Kubala is the final mare in the Southland Broodmare section of the Awards. Her big winner of the season was the Bettor's Delight colt Pat's Delight.
Pat's Delight's biggest win was when he beat Sheriff in the Three Year Old Emeralds on Harness Jewels Day at Cambridge.
He won six races and $171,313. His clash in the New Zealand Derby was one of the highlights of the season. Sheriff beat Pat's Delight by a nose running the 2600 metre mobile in a new New Zealand record of 3-05.4. The New Zealand Derby and Three Year Old record for this distance has been broken in each of the past three years.
Another of Righteous Franco’s foals Lightning Mach, won two races in America in the 2018 season. The mare's next foal is an Art Major two year old named Prince Art which qualified at Rangiora in May.
The Southland Harness Awards Dinner is a great celebration of Southland's successful harness racing industry.
Tickets cost $75 per person, or $70 per person if paid online.
If you would like to purchase tickets online, click on the following link
https://goo.gl/forms/Qm0O3SGq68ziPzUh2 and complete the form.
Due to catering requirements there are no door sales. The last day to purchase tickets is Monday 6th August – don't miss a great night!
The doors will open at 4:30pm. The dinner starts 6:00pm.
Bruce Stewart