Harness Racing

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TUESDAY IS NORM AND TOOTSIE’S DAY OUT

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TUESDAY IS NORM AND TOOTSIE’S DAY OUT

It’s a very rare Tuesday afternoon when Norm Warland and his evergreen mare Just Tootsie aren’t spotted in the float parking area at Club Menangle. Norm has only a twenty minute trip to the track from his Douglas Park property. You’ll never see him with a helper. Just Norm and Tootsie.

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COLIN WATTS OAM - HARNESS RACING HAS NEVER HAD A BETTER FRIEND

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COLIN WATTS OAM - HARNESS RACING HAS NEVER HAD A BETTER FRIEND

This might seem like a long winded way to highlight the kindly nature of Colin Watts, but the story is well worth the telling. In the week leading up to Easter of 1988 or 1989 I got a phone call from a distraught Tracy Grimshaw, the seemingly ageless host of the Nine Network’s “A Current Affair”.

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FAREWELL TO GAVIN LANG - THE BEST OF THE BEST!

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FAREWELL TO GAVIN LANG - THE BEST OF THE BEST!

Drawing a comparison between Gavin Lang and Michelangelo may seem a fanciful proposition. Not so when you analyse the words of a 16th century biographer who completed his work on Michelangelo, while the Renaissance genius was still alive.

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BLAKE HUGHES - COALFIELDS TEENAGER HAS THE BALL AT HIS FEET

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BLAKE HUGHES - COALFIELDS TEENAGER HAS THE BALL AT HIS FEET

Most busy jockeys and harness racing drivers are confidence players. A win early in the programme can set their mood for the rest of the card. It seems a disappointing start makes no difference to the mindset of young Hunter Valley trots driver Blake Hughes.

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STEPHANIE SIZZLES TO FIRST METRO WIN

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STEPHANIE SIZZLES TO FIRST METRO WIN

Stephanie Lippiatt couldn’t believe it had finally happened as she took Catch A Moment onto the track for the Schweppes Lady Drivers Invitational on Saturday night.

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HALWES WAS ONE OF THE BEST HORSES NEVER TO WIN AN INTER DOMINION

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HALWES WAS ONE OF THE BEST HORSES NEVER TO WIN AN INTER DOMINION

When it comes to horses I’m a hopeless sentimentalist. I had the pleasure of calling Halwes in all of his Harold Park wins in the late 1960’s and he left an indelible impression on me. He was a horse of high speed, great reserves of stamina and a terrific will to win.

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TONY TURNBULL OAM TURNS 90!

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TONY TURNBULL OAM TURNS 90!

The Bathurst Harness Racing Club hosted a magnificent birthday bash on Sunday for one of its favourite sons. Family and friends gathered to honour the legendary A.D. “Tony” Turnbull on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

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THIS BEETSON IS NO PIE EATER - ARTIE’S STILL GOING STRONG IN HIS TWELFTH YEAR

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THIS BEETSON IS NO PIE EATER - ARTIE’S STILL GOING STRONG IN HIS TWELFTH YEAR

When veteran pacer Beetson stepped onto the track at Bathurst a week before Christmas, trainer Peter Trevor-Jones wasn’t aware his ageless warrior was about to race for the 200th time.

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SARAH RUSHBROOK WAS HOOKED FROM THE START

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SARAH RUSHBROOK WAS HOOKED FROM THE START

I unashamedly claim some of the credit for Sarah Rushbrook’s winning double at Tamworth Paceway last Thursday. It was her fourth driving double to date and took her to 45 career wins.

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FATE BROUGHT BRAD ABBOTT AND DON BOSTON TOGETHER

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FATE BROUGHT BRAD ABBOTT AND DON BOSTON TOGETHER

Brad Abbott picked exactly the right moment to visit his fellow trainer Leon Jurd at the Menangle training complex in December of 2016.

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YET ANOTHER RANDO ANSWERS THE CALL TO HARNESS RACING

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YET ANOTHER RANDO ANSWERS THE CALL TO HARNESS RACING

You could have knocked me over with a feather the night an immaculately dressed twelve year old boy wearing a pork pie hat bowled up to me at Penrith trots, declaring one of my horses a “good thing”.

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HONDO GRATTAN - GO GO GO YOU LITTLE BEAUTY

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HONDO GRATTAN - GO GO GO YOU LITTLE BEAUTY

Stumbled upon a couple of photos of Hondo Grattan the other day. That’s all it takes to trigger memories of one of the most charismatic harness horses of all time. Did a quick check to learn that it’s coming up twenty five years since the little champ passed away at the Turnbull family’s Loyal Stud near Bathurst.

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DENNIS PICKER - IT’S ALL IN THE GENES

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DENNIS PICKER - IT’S ALL IN THE GENES

Dennis Picker is one trots trainer who has no intention of getting caught up in the grind of racing all year round. 

In the last six or seven years Dennis has established a pattern of working a team of twenty horses, including five yearlings

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HOWARD JAMES - HARNESS RACING’S QUIET ACHIEVER

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HOWARD JAMES - HARNESS RACING’S QUIET ACHIEVER

Howard James was twelve years old when he first met Brian Hancock. Young Howard spent most weekends and school holidays with brothers, Brian and Richard Hancock, who were rapidly establishing their commercial training operation.

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CHRIS WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

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CHRIS WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

The crowd had dwindled and the bids were sparse when Lot 202 walked into the ring at the 2015 Bathurst Gold Crown yearling sale. Chris Frisby had already secured a couple of “cheapies” and wasn’t really interested in a third. He sat down for a moment and took a cursory look at the Sportswriter colt from Rooftop Fairy.

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HARNESS RACING ATTRACTS PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE - EVEN THE OCCASIONAL POLICEMAN

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HARNESS RACING ATTRACTS PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE - EVEN THE OCCASIONAL POLICEMAN

Joe Conolly isn’t the first policeman to have trained harness horses. The question was raised by trot fans after the Conolly trained ten year old All About Art, won the opening race at Penrith last week.