03 March 2020 | Alan Parker
When Nathan Turvey pushed the Cliff Woodworth trained Bee Seventeen through a narrow opening at Gloucester Park last Friday night to win the third race on the programme he brought up his 1000th winner as a reinsman.
Turvey has joined a select group of just 17 drivers who have reached the 1000 winners mark in Western Australia.
“I never thought I would get to a figure of 1000 winners when I started out as a driver,” he said today.
Six of those wins have been at Group One level with five of the six wins coming in 2yo Classics including the 2015 Golden Slipper Stakes with the Gary Elson trained Sprinter and the 2019 Golden Slipper Stakes with Jaspervellabeach trained by Kristy Elson.
The 42yo Turvey took up driving in 2002 after returning to Western Australia after playing AFL football for Hawthorn who had drafted him in 1996.
Nathan’s first winner came on 5th January 2003 behind a horse called Showtime Chant at Williams. Showtime Chant was trained by Nathan’s father Neville whose stables were in the nearby town of Narrogin.
Nathan Turvey began training in 2005, while working for trainer Grant Williams, and when Touch Of Success won at Gloucester Park last Friday with Gary Hall in the cart it brought up Nathan’s 450th win as a trainer.
Friday night was a big night for milestone wins as John Coffey’s Patrician Park brought up Perth win number 300 as a breeder when Lady Jadore took out the Group One 2yo Fillies Sales Classic for trainer Annie Belton.
Lady Jadore beat her stablemate Adore Me Some More with the Vicki Lea trained Benesari Lane in third place. It was the first time that the ladies have trained the trifecta in a Group One race in Perth and fittingly it came in a fillies race.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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