Swan Hill Trotting Club has just one meeting left in its racing season and plenty of interest remains in the race to win its annual awards.
Both the Trainer of the Year and Horse of the Year awards are wide open, though the Driver of the Year gong looks in safe keeping.
Michael Bellman leads the drivers’ award with 42 points and his nearest rival, David Moran, is on 27 points. Neil McCallum (22) and Hayden Gray (21) follow closely.
Ouyen trainer Malcolm Retallick is a one-point leader in the Trainer of the Year award. He has been rewarded for his consistency and strike rate, having had 11 starters at Swan Hill for two winners, four seconds and a third.
Retallick has 17 points and leads Donna Castles by one point. Castles doesn’t train a large team and her efforts have been full of merit. Better known for training trotters rather than pacers, David Van Ryn is in 3rd place in the award with 14 points and is closely followed by Bendigo trainer Glenn Douglas and local trainer Joe Costa (both 13 points).
With one meeting to go and plenty of points on offer there are still six trainers who could take out the club’s prestigious trainers’ award.
The Horse of the Year points tally is also extremely close. The first eight horses are separated by only two points, with Eliska leading the way with 10, courtesy of two wins and a second placing.
Square trotter Cudgee Boy sits second on the points tally with nine and there are six other horses on eight. Given the closeness of the points tally the nominations both by trainers and for horses for Swan Hill’s meeting on August 18 should be very strong in numbers.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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