1: Best horse who have ever been associated or worked with:
Christen Me as he had gears with push button speed. After 32 wins & 11 group one victories ($2.5million in stakes) I am still trying to find one as good.
2: Best horse you have ever seen live:
Lyell Creek. He broke all the rules on breeding and his unorthodox upbringing but went on to become arguably the best trotter seen down under winning 56 races.
3: Best horse you have seen in any form (live, on tv, on the internet):
Sunline. She was big, powerful, strong and fast, and used to gorilla her opposition.
4: If you could have any driver in history driving for you in most important race of your life, it would be?:
Dexter Dunn, Anthony Butt, John Campbell (he stole my racing colours, or maybe I stole his)
5: The best trainer you have ever seen:
Nathan Purdon
6: Your favourite racetrack:
Mooney Valley. The atmosphere at that complex was just electric.
7: The unluckiest or hardest to swallow defeat of your career:
Bettor’s Strike in the NZ Cup. He placed 2nd, beaten a neck after being held up severely at the 200m.
8: The race you have never won but would love to:
NZ Cup. Even if a non horse racing follower can remember one race a year, it will be who won the NZ Cup. It’s the pinnacle.
9: The horse we never got to see the best of is:
Laud. He was my first winner as a trainer (at 23yrs) and Derek Jones’ last driving win of his career. He then went on to win the 3yo Sires Stakes Final on NZ Cup Day, he only had 5 starts as a 3 year old but still got voted 3 year old pacer of the year. He was special. Unfortunately he was injured later that season and never raced again.
10: The racing win, yours or somebody elses, that gave you the most joy:
Christen Me, Auckland Cup. Building up to this victory, he was scratched 3 days before the first heat of the Sydney Interdominions, he developed a mysterious injury involving his sacoriliac joint and his spine. He couldn’t even walk and looked like a full cripple. Along with the help of Murray Howard, we had two chiropractors and acupuncture specialists treating him morning and night, and all he could do was hand walk several times a day. 20 days later he beat Adore Me by a nose in the Auckland Cup. I can’t explain enough on how we were a million to one shot of coming from the dead to that victory. We went into the race totally blind on what the outcome would be but the talent of the horse filled in the extra gap that we couldn’t do from our care in training.
11: Who is the person in harness racing you haven’t seen since lockdown started you are looking forward to seeing the most when we get back to the track:
Peter Lamb.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
