Watson breaks through for first win

24-year-old reinsman Jack Watson finally broke through for his first win in the harness racing sulky when guiding Shaun To The Max (Pet Rock) to victory in Hobart on Friday night (Mar. 10).

Making the win extra special, Watson also owns the pacer and is trained by one of his most loyal supporters, his mother, Juanita McKenzie.

The win came at his 24th attempt, after a frustrating run of bad luck.

“It was a huge relief to finally get the first winner,” said Watson about the win.

And a tough win it was, with the five-year-old gelded son of Pet Rock racing outside the leader in the up-to-rating 49 event.

“We have decided to drive him a bit tougher in the last few weeks.

“Obviously, I got stuck three-wide over the mile a few starts back, but he still went well, so we decided to push forward from the draw (on Friday), and I had plenty of horse heading into the back straight,” explained the winning driver.

Despite his strong family background, Watson was almost lost to the sport.

“When I was younger I was interested, and when my grandfather (Joe) passed away I lost interest for a while, but when we bred Jack James, it was full steam ahead back into it.

“When I started to get interested again, I was looking for a horse to mess around with, so I went online and saw Shaun To The Max was up for sale,” the owner-driver explained.

Watson currently has full-time work in the building industry and is considering a move to the sport on a full-time basis.

For complete race results, click here.

by Duncan Dornauf, for Tasracing