24 January 2018 | Shane Yates
Scottsdale husband and wife team Wayne and Wanda Campbell have enjoyed a lifetimes involvement in the harness racing industry as owners and breeders, with Wayne holding a training and driver’s licence for almost 50 years.
They have experienced the thrill of winning a feature race with a gelding they raised from day dot, not once, not even twice but three times.
On Sunday night the Riverboat King – Cranleigh eight-year-old Riverboat Jasper added the $30,000 Hardings Hotmix Devonport Cup to the Campbell’s trophy cabinet to sit right alongside it’s 2016 Easter Cup Silverware and last season’s Plunket Family Ascot Gold Cup.
Wayne recently stepped up to the position of President of the North Eastern Pacing Club after the sad loss of a good friend, fellow harness enthusiast and champion footballer Kenny Hall.
With the extra responsibilities of the Presidency and the Club’s annual Gala Race Day closing in fast, Wayne made the decision to ask Carrick trainer Mark Yole to take Riverboat Jasper to the TPC meeting on the Sunday night following the Scottsdale meeting to contest the Triple M Hobart Cup where he finished midfield.
The decision to leave Riverboat Jasper with Yole paid immediate dividends for the Campbell clan with Mark responsible for an inspired drive in the Cup with the 10-metre marker.
On the back of his sensational victory with Hez The One in last week’s Burnie Cup Mark was the first to make a move over the gruelling 3020 metre staying test, hooking Riverboat Jasper out three wide at the 1000 metre mark and pressing forward to join the leaders.
With the pressure well and truly on the hardened warrior showed his true mettle, storming to the front inside the two hundred before defying his rivals efforts to run him down in the home stretch.
Wayne and Wanda combined again with Yole in the last race of the night to snare a winning double with Ken Two Stars leading all the way.
Riverboat Jasper now heads to Hobart in a fortnight to race over a mile as he prepares for another tilt at the prestigious Easter Cup.
Watch Riverboat Jasper score a convincing victory for trainer-driver Mark Yole in Sunday nights Devonport Cup:
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
