Bathurst youngsters are blazing a trail

Teenage reinsman Jye Coney is sweeping all before him, alongside his good mate and work buddy Jett Turnbull, in a remarkable rise through the harness racing ranks.

Coney, 17, lives and breathes harness racing and, despite only in his second full season of driving, already sits fifth on the New South Wales State Drivers’ Premiership with 74 wins — just 12 behind Turnbull, also aged 17. The current leader is experienced horseman Robert Morris with 94 victories.

Turnbull, last season’s leading NSW concession driver with 175 wins, etched his name into the record books as the youngest Australian driver to reach 100 wins — a record previously held by Queensland’s Angus Garrard.

Coney, too, has milestones in sight and has been in sensational form, winning five of his past 10 drives.

“I would have to say that I’ve certainly surprised myself,” quietly spoken Coney said.

“To think that 100 wins for the season could be in reach, is a bit surreal.”

Coney works alongside Turnbull at the stable of Jett’s father, Nathan Turnbull, at The Lagoon, near Bathurst, where they train a team of about 50 horses.  Nathan looks to have a second successive NSW Trainers’ Premiership in his sights, having notched up 110 winners – 48 clear of his nearest rival.

For both of these up-and-coming drivers, harness racing was always going to be their path.

Coney has followed in the footsteps of his father Greg and older sister Jemma, 23. He left school to chase his dream, coming up through the mini-trot ranks before working in professional stables and gaining his driver’s licence.

“When I was at school, harness racing was always it. There was really nothing else that I had in mind that I wanted to do,” he said.

He made his race driving debut at Tamworth on August 17, 2023, and landed a win with Colby — trained by his dad.

“I had four drives, and although Colby was my last of them, it was awesome to get the win,” he said.

“I’ve been working for Nathan for just on 12 months. He rang me out of the blue and said there weren’t many junior drivers with a five-point claim up there.

“I’m enjoying it heaps. Nathan is a great mentor and fun to work with. I know the Bathurst cold weather is pretty much well known, but I haven’t found it to be too bad.

“I know the good run I’m having probably won’t last, but I’ll just keep working hard.”

Coney labels his now home-track Bathurst as his favourite.

“There’s plenty of meetings around here, but I just love Bathurst. Menangle is pretty good, and I’ve enjoyed it up there when I’ve got the opportunities. While I haven’t had a win, I’ve had a fair few placings,” he said.

“I also go to Parkes, Dubbo, Young, Canberra and Penrith. I get a lot of drives from all the Turnbulls which is great, as well as some outside trainers who are also giving me a go.”

For Jett, the opportunities just keep coming. He recently took out both the TAB Regional Championships Western Final and the State Final with Glitter Aint Gold (Bling It On), trained by his father Nathan.

And adding to the excitement, Jett has recently been announced as the NSW representative in the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championship, to be staged during the Inter Dominion Carnival in Queensland next month.

While there’s undoubtedly plenty of banter at the Turnbull stables, Coney also shares a friendly rivalry with his sister Jemma.

“She is up at Newcastle at the moment, working with Mick Formosa, and training a few of her own — Jemma had it all over me when I first started out driving, but I’d have her covered at the moment I reckon!” he laughed.

The pair will again be in action at Bathurst tonight (June 18), with Turnbull taking six drives and Coney, sitting on a career tally of 145 winners, booked for seven.

See the full Bathurst fields here:

From Terry Gange for Harnesslink