18 March 2021 | Ashleigh Paikos
Friday the 12th of March saw the wrap up of the 20/21 Albany season, concluding the battles for leading trainer and driver for the Great Southern.
The battle for leading trainer ended with Coolup trainer Hayden Reeves narrowly defeating Busselton based Barry Howlett by just one point.
Reeves went into the final meeting with a seven-point advantage, with seven runners engaged at the meeting, he managed to gain victory with Mollidor, a 40-start-maiden having her first start for the new stable.
“I was really shocked to see her [Mollidor] open at such short odds. She has been racing in Pinjarra, so I did think this would be a little easier company, but I expected her to be at longer odds.”
“I only purchased her Monday afternoon, so I didn’t really get to do much with her work wise. I took her to the track once to get a feel of her and was happy with her work, but I was still unsure of how she would go with the big trip down to Albany and the relatively short back-up.” He said.
The $1.35 favourite started from barrier one and was able to lead from start to finish, giving driver Bailey McDonough a solid advantage for leading club driver.
McDonough, who was looking for his third country driving premiership, pulled away for a 16-point victory, finishing on 80 points for the season.
“It feels terrific to take out another driving premiership. With the long hours and trips to Albany, week in and week out, it’s good to be rewarded with the win.” He said.
Thomson Bay, who was successful in race three at Gloucester Park on Friday night, took out the Albany Pacer of the Year. The four-year-old ended the season on 22 points.
With nine races on the card, it was exciting to see eight different trainers take out the races, with trainer Peter Anderson with training honours on the night, with the first leg of his winning double in race four, Star Of The Class, starting as the $1.26 favourite for a lead all the way win for reinsman Donald Harper.
The last race on the card saw Anderson prepare all five runners, with See The World notching up her first career win in the two-year-old event.
Leading Club Trainer
| Name | Races | 1sts | 2nds | 3rds | 4ths | Points |
| Hayden Reeves | 56 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 71 |
| Barry Howlett | 35 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 70 |
| Peter Anderson | 26 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 43 |
| Aiden De Campo | 12 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Tim Stone | 24 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 28 |
| David Goulden | 73 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 23 |
| Adrian Shanks | 37 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 22 |
| Nathan Dymock | 66 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 21 |
| Jemma Collins | 22 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 19 |
| John Fagg | 28 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 18 |
Leading Club Driver
| Name | Races | 1sts | 2nds | 3rds | 4ths | Points |
| Bailey McDonough | 50 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 80 |
| Trent Wheeler | 62 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 64 |
| Ashleigh Markham | 57 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 47 |
| Tim Stone | 60 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 46 |
| Mark Johnson | 57 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 43 |
| Aiden De Campo | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Hayden Hancock | 54 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 35 |
| Donald Harper | 17 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 23 |
| Shane Butterworth | 56 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 21 |
| Nathan Dymock | 37 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
Leading Club Pacer
| Name | Races | 1sts | 2nds | 3rds | 4ths | Points |
| THOMSON BAY | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| BOUNTIFUL REACTOR | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| SMART FORTUNE NZ | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| TROIS FONTAINE | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| ROKORICO | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| SOHO CASH | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| SECRET OPERATION | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| GRAPELLIES BOY | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| STAR OF THE CLASS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| NULLARBOR NAVAJO | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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