Horse of the Year comes down to the wire

The Parkes Harness Racing Club’s Horse of the Year Award has been a sort-after prize that has been won by many top horses over the years.

Despite the circuit being less than 800 metres in circumference, the likes of Smooth Satin, Karloo Mick and Our Uncle Sam have won at Parkes, with the latter holding the track record of 1.55.3 for the mile.

The 2021 Horse of the Year came right down to the wire with two horses equal on points leading into the final meeting for the season on New Year’s Eve.

Jacobs Thunder and Key Defender both raced consistently during the Parkes season but after finishing third on December 31 it was Key Defender who claimed the trophy by just a single point.

Part-owned by harness racing enthusiast Billy Kitt, who hails from Oberon, with a group of his mates and trained by Nathan Turnbull, Key Defender heads back to Parkes this evening as the title defender and will be one of the favoured runners in a heat of the Club Menangle Country Series over the sprint course, a distance that Kitt is confident will suit his pacer down to the ground.

“He has drawn perfectly in gate three and the shorter distance should suit him perfectly,” said Kitt.

“He relishes racing on the speed and flies off the arm.

“And his record at Parkes speaks for itself; it is astonishing really.

“From 10 starts at the track during 2021, he won four races, and was placed four times.

“He just loves the track and for him to win the Horse of the Year title there was just incredible.

“We have endured many problems with him since we bought him, but Nathan (Turnbull) has been able to work them out and has taken him to another level.

“And for that we cannot thank him enough.”

Another horse that has a liking for the Parkes track is the Mark Hewitt-trained Mighty Joe, who has drawn gate one in the Joe Dumesny Memorial.

A topical tip, Mighty Joe drops in grade from his last start when he contested the Temora Cup and finished a creditable fifth.

Owned by Parkes Club President Geoff Cole, Mighty Joe was winner there in early December when driven by Will Cassell, who takes the reins again tonight and the combination should be hard to beat.

To view fields for Parkes on Wednesday night click here.

By Michael Dumesny for HRNSW