By Matt Markham
It’s not often students walk into an exam with a smile on their face but last Friday morning Josh Whittaker just couldn’t help it.
Unknowingly to most of his classmates, Whittaker had just over 12 hours ago driven his first winner when Party Rage won at the Rangiora meeting at Addington – beating the current World Champion, Dexter Dunn in the process.
But any thoughts of elation and celebration had to be on hold for the Year 13 Lincoln High School student as his academic requirements took centre stage.
“It was pretty hard to focus on the exam,” Whittaker said. “And I probably couldn’t wipe the smile of my face. A few of my mates knew what had happened and were stoked for me but there were a few people there who wouldn’t have had a clue.”
The son of well-known Canterbury harness racing identities Jeff and Tracey Whittaker, Josh has been around horses all of his life and the chance to get out on the track and compete as a driver has always been something he’s been keen to work towards.
His affinity with a horse is quite clear when you look at some of his other achievements in the equine world.
An accomplished equestrian rider, Whittaker last year qualified to compete in the Young Rider section at the prestigious Horse of the Year event.
That part of his life is currently on the back burner though as his focuses are on studying, driving racehorses and his other major love, rugby league.
“I’ve been playing league since I was 5, Dad’s always been pretty involved in the sport so it was always going to happen.’’
A self-proclaimed nuggety hooker who isn’t afraid of doing a bit of hard work, Whittaker is a dab hand on the footy field and is a current member of the Canterbury under 19 squad.
“There’s not a lot of time left in the day at the moment with training, school and the horses. “But I enjoy it all, and getting a winner has made it all worth it.’’
Although driving is the immediate goal within the harness racing industry, Whittaker already has one eye on the future and is intending on heading to Melbourne next year to study horse dentistry.
“It’s always something I’ve been interested in, so I’ve applied for next year and we will see what happens.’’
Party Rage’s success last week came at Whittaker’s fifth race day drive and was a real family affair.
Jeff trains the Mach Three five-year-old and also co-owns with Tracey. He also bred the mare along with good friend and former New Zealand rugby league representative and Warriors coach, Frank Endacott.
“With Party Rage being such a family horse it was pretty special to get my first win on her. “I wasn’t all that sure I had won to be honest, it wasn’t until Dexter said well done to me when we were pulling up that I realised.
“That’s when the smile came on and it hasn’t really left since. “And to have a guy like Dexter be the first one to congratulate me was pretty cool too, he’s an incredible driver.’’
With next year looking set to be spent abroad and the league season almost at an end, Whittaker is keen to focus his energies on driving and hopefully adding a few more wins to the tally.
“I am really enjoying being out there and hopefully I can get myself a few more drives and pick up a few more wins.’’
And with the rare sporting ability that Whittaker possesses, there’s every chance he’ll do exactly that.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
