I’m not sure that we’ve ever had a dual winner of the Pryde’s monthly award for country trainers, but December results have changed all of that.

On any other sweltering Sunday the thought of a near 500 km road trip towing a horse float would have held little appeal. Last Sunday however trainer Nick Olive felt no pain as he departed his Queanbeyan stables with just one horse on board

A buoyant Port Macquarie crowd swelled by holidaymakers was treated to a masterclass by talented young jockey Anna Roper on Sunday.

Chad Lever had just departed his Hawkesbury base bound for Moruya when he answered his car phone on Sunday morning.

It was way back in 1995 when Steve Hart and former jockey Malcolm Fitzgerald floated the idea of making an annual Christmas visit to the children’s wards at Randwick and Westmead Hospitals.

Larry Cassidy’s the first to admit he enjoyed a charmed run as a professional jockey for the first three decades of his long career.

Ashley Morgan’s caution was evident as he nursed Private Harry through the middle stages of Saturday’s BM72 at Rosehill Gardens. In fact, he still hadn’t moved when they got to the 200m.

Ten wins in the space of a month is a remarkable achievement for any country trainer with just 25 horses in work. Dubbo’s Michael Mulholland did exactly that in the month of November.

Joe Pride has all but given up on trying to outguess Private Eye. The enigmatic but massively talented gelding has had the top trainer scratching his head all through this current preparation.

Ever astute Canberra trainer Keith Dryden has enjoyed many special moments in a career now into its fifth decade.

I gained an early insight into the resilience of Keith Banks during a stint as guest commentator at the 1970 Grafton July Carnival.

It’s a good performance by any country trainer to win four races in a month with a team of just over twenty horses in work.

Two key factors paved the way for Kingston Charm’s win in Saturday’s $500,000 Four Pillars Midway at Rosehill Gardens.

It was reasonable to assume the touch of raspiness in Tyler Schiller’s voice on Sunday morning was the result of a little socialising the previous night.

“I watched the Kosciuszko on ground level opposite the winning post with a clear view of the big infield screen,” said David McColm.

Gavin Carmody gained his early media experience as a producer with major Sydney radio stations 2UE and 2GB.

“He’s just now starting to work out why he’s galloping around Sydney racecourses,” said Anthony Cummings. The trainer was referring to Saturday’s Gloaming Stakes winner El Castello, a three year old colt who’s come a long way in a short time.

You might see one or two winners dominate any given race programme, but five “demolition jobs” in one day isn’t common. To see it happen on Epsom day at Randwick, is even less likely.

With just eighteen horses in work on her Bendemeer property, Jane Clement’s achievement to win nine races for the month was award winning stuff.

Dean Mirfin’s TAB Highway win with Marenaro on Saturday took a lot of weight off the shoulders of the Bathurst trainer.