By Matt Markham
They’ve both already won major junior driver prizes this season, but there’s one more battle to be sorted for Stevie Golding and Katie Cox.
The pair, who between them this month have won the Darren DeFilippi Memorial and the New Zealand Junior Drivers’ Championship are locked on 25 points each in the Maurice Holmes Trophy which is awarded to the leading junior driver for the season at New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club meetings.
And the battle can be either won or lost tomorrow night at Addington.
Contested for only in junior driver races, tomorrow night’s event for the industry youngsters is the final of it’s kind for the season and both Cox and Golding have drives.
Cox, who won the Darren DeFilippi Memorial earlier in the month with King Of The Roses, will drive Bettor Luck for West Melton trainer David Pearce.
Golding, who last Friday night was crowned the New Zealand Junior Driving Champion has the drive on Martin John for his current boss, Andrew Stuart.
No points were on offer in last week’s Junior Driver Championships.
Points are only on offer for a top four finish so there is a possibility that a deadlock may still be needed after the race.
If no points are gained by either driver it would then shift to number of wins which would see Cox victorious thanks to two wins in Junior Driver events this season.
Just to make things even trickier though there is a chance that both could be leap-frogged.
Matt Anderson, who doesn’t have a drive at this stage is one point back in fourth position while both Matt Purvis and Craig Ferguson could draw level if they were to win and neither Cox or Golding finished in the top four.
Both Purvis and Ferguson would win the title if that eventuated as they have driven more winners in junior races than Cox and Golding.
Purvis has the drive on last start winner, Hannah Extreme while Ferguson will drive Gunpowder.
Addington’s other mini premierships are a little more clear cut.
Sunny Ruby has the Addington Filly or Mare title tucked away for safe keeping with her 24 point haul, clear of her closest rival Luisanabelle Midfrew.
Dexter Dunn’s 50 wins for the season have him a clear winner of the Islington Tavern Drivers’ Premiership while Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen have unassailable leads in both the Islington Tavern Trainers Premiership and the Zilco NZ Ltd Universal Trainer Rating.
Purdon also can’t be caught in the Universal Driver Rating competition as well.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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