It was a case of the meeting of the generations at the Bendigo Harness Racing on Friday, November 11, with many of Victoria’s legendary drivers of the past uniting with the future stars of the sport to highlight the night’s racing.
The Veteran Drivers Trot attracted a stellar list of Victoria’s most decorated drivers, with the line-up reading like a ‘Who’s Who’ of major race wins. Six Inter Dominion victories as well as Hunter Cups, Breeders Crowns, Oaks, Derbies, Country Cups and just about every other major race feature were listed on the career records of the drivers involved.
The combined total of winners driven by the eleven competitors was over 11,000, with Brian Gath heading the group with over 3,300 wins. Other drivers involved included Graeme Lang, Jim O’Sullivan, Neville Welsh, Ginger Gleeson, Cliff Powell, Keith Pratt, Graeme Whittle, Peter Manning, Noel Shinn and Bill Spiteri.
The crowd gathered in numbers around the Presentation Dias for both the pre-race introduction of the Veteran Drivers and the race itself, and were treated to a thrilling finish, with Brian Gath securing a narrow victory on the Christine Douglas owned and Jennifer Douglas trained Hanging On A Dream.
Also on the same program was a heat and final of the Ted Manton Memorial Pony Trot for aspiring junior drivers. A massive field of 19 Pony Trotters took to the track, with the youngest competitor just six years old.
And just to reinforce the links between the past and future of our sport, both the owner and trainer of Hanging On A Dream had children competing in the Pony Trot series. They were all very excited to greet Brian and Hanging On A Dream for a photo at the completion of the race.
To round out the eventful night of racing, the favourite for the upcoming Perth Inter Dominion Hector Jay Jay, scorched around the Lord’s Raceway track in a near-record time to win the Markovina Free For All, convincingly recording a 1:55.2 mile rate. This race had been re-scheduled from Melton on the following night to accommodate the participating Inter Dominion horses that were Perth -bound on a Sunday flight.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
