Gary Crocker, Chairman, Allwood Stud Farm 2018 SA Yearling Sale Committee
Many people are of the view our Harness Racing leaders and highly paid officials need to step up and start prompting our great sport in a far more targeted, effective way. This could include highlighting the amazing achievement of ladies in our code.
Harness Racing is one of the rare sports where men and women go onto the same stage and complete under the same conditions and rules. Yet I find very few promotions around this truly unique opportunity that Harness Racing offers to all.
As I’m typing this piece I’ve just clicked on the 17/18 leading trainers list and six of the top eleven trainers on that list are ladies.
Emma Stewart comes in ranked at number 2 nationally with 97 wins already this season
Kerryann Turner comes in ranked number 4 nationally with 62 wins.
Amanda Turnbull is ranked 5th on the national list with 60 wins and 4th on our leading drivers table
Skye Bond is ranked 6th with 57 wins
Chantal Turpin comes in number 9 with 52 wins
Lauren Tritton comes in at number 11 on both the training and driving tables.
Don’t forget our local hero Dani Hill who is 3rd on our top trainers list for the 17/18 season and 2nd for our leading state driver.
Let’s not forget our world champion Kerryn Manning who is working towards a staggering 4000 race wins.
Now I’m the first to admit it’s not all about the trainers and drivers – we have a list of truly wonderful ladies that are involved in facets of the sport . Just off the top of my head, other outstanding ladies that don’t seem to ever get mentioned are from areas like
Owners
Breeders
Stud Owners
Key administration positions
Leading veterinarians
Head Stewards
Stable Hands
Photographers
Journalists
Transport operators and there would be plenty more to add to this list if we had more time.
Then there is the group that I’m so lucky to work with, “the yearling sale preparers”, which l believe are leading the way worldwide. Names like Christine Denning and “The Queen” of preparers, Annie Dalton. Annie would have forgotten more about handling and caring for horses than some people will ever learn in a lifetime.
While Annie has been leading the way for more than twenty five years, a new wave of absolute stars in this field are coming and its headed up by a very talented, accomplished young lady who is very passionate and has a high level of professionalism, drive and skill that’s rarely seen. That person is Courtney Slater.
The great news for our sport is that this art of producing world class yearlings in the correct manner means that youngsters are handed over to new owners with the best possible preparation for their life ahead on the track.
Courtney along with family and team believe the sport needs to do more for owners and they have made the brave call to support as many sales as possible. They set no boundaries on the kilometres they will travel to help their owners and to bring new people into this great sport.
The Colac based operation only have two lots in the first APG Melbourne sale. The first to go into the ring will be Lot 106 (colt above). He will be an affordable option for people looking for a colt who’s dam has results on the board. He is the half-brother to the unbeaten Goodtime Sammy. Sammy was lost to the track far too early and many good judges thought this horse had a massive future ahead of him before injury struck.
Courtney’s 2nd lot In this weekend’s APG Melbourne Sale is from the champion U30 family – Australasians best ever. Add that he is also by the king, Bettors Delight, plus the added dominance of the perfect match with a quality In The Pocket mare,Courtney is extremely excited about the prospects of the highly credentialed lot 168. This lot would give any meticulously researched buyer a wonderful opportunity to invest in a yearling that has a far greater percentage of achieving lifetime earnings exceeding $100K than his contemporaries. Put simply, this is the only horse in the sale with the Testmating Advantage.
http://www.apgold.com.au/yearling-sales/2018-online-guides/melbourne-online-guide/
Once the excitment is over in Melbourne, Courtney and a team of three horses will make the 730 kilometre trip to “The Allwood” taking place at the Magic Millions Sales Complex, Morphettville, SA on Sunday the 11 February.
The sale, and subsequent races series attached to it, with over $200,000 up for grabs, will see a varied array of top bloodlines on offer for those looking for the next champion.
The lot above has been prepared for a wonderful owner from South Australia Mr Jack Panagiotou
This magnificent looking Colt by the all American bred stallion Shadyshark Hanover will get a lot of interest and the vendor Goodtime Lodge (Courtney’s parents Ian & Judi ) have a very healthy reputation for selling horses under the hammer.
The perfectly prepared and raised filly above is the horse many good judges think has the capacity to captivate buyers who are meticulous about researching pedigrees. This filly will no doubt give its new owner a great shot at taking out the very first edition of the Harnessbred.com state of origin series with more than $70,000 on offer. While the astute buyer of this wonderful yearling will have the comfort of knowing they picked the only filly with the Testmating Advantage that has a far greater percentage of achieving lifetime earnings exceeding $100K than her contemporaries.
All of this reinforces that the extremely exciting “Allwood” sale should be a real Bonanza for buyers.
https://baringbloodstock.com.au/yearling-sale-2018/
In the last week of February , the Slaters are heading up to APG’s Sydney sale, with this very correct looking young Colt. This stunning picture was taken a whole 6 weeks prior to the sale date. I’m expecting this colt to have Courtney very busy over that weekend.
Courtney’s biggest consignment will be for the APTS with seven yearlings in the sale. One owner sent 6 yearlings and when l called this leading breeder from NSW he had this to say:
“Last year at the sales one preparers yearlings caught my eye – Courtney and her team’s Lots. That was the day, l knew she was the girl for me”.
Photos for these outstanding yearlings will come soon.
http://www.austrottingsale.com.au/
For people looking at getting their yearlings’ broken in after the sale, Courtney’s husband Mark is well-known for doing an outstanding job with this. Courtney can be reached on 0428 355 580
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
