A special first win in Indigenous plate

Young Indigenous reinsman Tanner Brown made the wait worthwhile when he recorded the first harness racing driving win of his career on a special night at Menangle on Saturday night (Oct 27).

Brown and his dad Dwayne, whose heritage is Gamilaroi (from the Tamworth area) were thrilled to both be invited to contest the annual feature race for Indigenous drivers, the Kari JC Caffyn Plate, on Breeders Challenge night at NSW headquarters.

But 20-year-old Tanner made the most of the opportunity with a thrilling last-to-first victory behind Obidiah Dragon (Fear The Dragon), a three-time NZ winner having his first Australian race start for Castlereagh trainer Joe Connelly.

“I knew the horse had the ability, but I was just a bit worried about the draw (barrier 11). Joey told me before the race that the draw wasn’t a problem, though, so that gave me a fair bit of confidence,” Brown said.

Brown dropped Obidiah Dragon off the wide gate and restrained to the rear of the field, putting the three-year-old to sleep in the one-out line.  The pair made their move at the top of the straight and finished too strongly to score by a short half head in the final bound.

“I’ve had about 30 starts, and I’ve come a couple of seconds and thirds – but it was a pretty special way to get my first win,” Brown said.

“Dad was there obviously, and my mum and my sister also came down from Tamworth to watch, so it was great to finally be able to get the win and to have them all there,” he said.

Brown edged out Victorian visitor Scott Rains, who is of Kalkadoon heritage (Mt Isa, Qld), driving Jordy for Kevin Pizzutto.

Brown said his Indigenous heritage was important to him and supported during his schooling at the Peel High School in Tamworth, which has a high priority on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

He said his dad’s involvement in harness racing virtually ensured he would try to forge a career in the sport.

Dad Dwayne is enjoying his best season as a trainer, with 15 wins and 36 placings from 140 starters for the season and has increased his stable at the Tamworth track to around eight horses.

“I think I was always going to be involved.  I came up through the mini-trots and progressed from there,” Brown said.

“I help dad out and I drive as often as I can.  I work full time at bricklaying, but I’ve saved up plenty of RDOs so I can drive when I need to and my boss is really good about it.

“I’d really love to have a career in the sport, but with the bricklaying, I’ve got a fallback job if it doesn’t work out!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink