Beckwith gets first win at World Driving Championship

Brett Beckwith picked up his first win at the World Driving Championship in New Zealand on Friday when he guided Look To Da Stars to a 10-length romp in the fourth of the day’s five WDC races at Addington Raceway.

Beckwith and Look To Da Stars raced in the outer flow throughout the early stages of the 1,980-meter race, getting away fourth-over in eighth before eventually finding themselves uncovered on their way down the backstretch to the final turn. At that point, Beckwith stepped on the gas and the 5-year-old trotter responded by taking the lead from Sandfly Bay, driven by New Zealand’s Blair Orange, and drawing away from the field.

“That was awesome,” said Beckwith, who drove Look To Da Stars for trainers Mark and Nathan Purdon and owner Thompson Bloodstock, via text. “It was one of the most special wins I’ve ever had. I had a great fan base rooting me on. A big shoutout to the Pattersons (of the Commodore Hotel), who sponsored the race, a great family, and my man Andrew Stuart and ‘Magic’ (Jason Broad) for supporting me through the whole trip.”

Beckwith had not enjoyed the best luck during the first three rounds of the World Driving Championship but opened Friday’s fourth day with a second-place finish behind Sandy Shore before breaking through for his first victory three races later.

LOOK TO DA STARS REPLAY

“It’s been a rough week, but we finally got a win, thankfully,” Beckwith said in a Trackside NZ interview after the race. “The trainer had this one ready to go.”

He added about the experience of competing in the WDC in New Zealand, “It’s been awesome. It’s a beautiful country, great people. It’s tough to dream about something like this, especially coming over here and racing horses.”

In the day’s first WDC dash, Orange got his 3,000th lifetime New Zealand victory, with pacing mare Always A Menace. The 47-year-old Orange became the youngest driver to reach 3,000 in New Zealand, and the fourth driver overall.

Also winning races Friday were Canada’s James MacDonald, Sweden’s Mats Djuse and France’s Pierre Vercruysse.

After 15 of the WDC’s 20 races, MacDonald remained the leader, with 130 points, followed by Australia’s Gary Hall Jr. and Djuse. Beckwith was in ninth.

The WDC visits Winton for four dashes on Sunday (Nov. 9) before concluding with a single race back at Addington on Tuesday (Nov. 11), New Zealand Cup Day.

To watch replays of the 15 completed WDC races, click here.

Complete information regarding the WDC can be found at the website wdc25.nz.

WORLD DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIP
Points after 15 of 20 races
James MacDonald (Canada) 130
Gary Hall junior (Australia) 121
Mats Djuse (Sweden) 111
Blair Orange (New Zealand) 107
Michael Nimczyk (Germany) 91
Pierre Vercurysse (France) 91
Giampaolo Minnucci (Italy) 83
Jaap van Rijn (Netherlands) 83
Brett Beckwith (USA) 80
Santtu Raitala (Finland) 74

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA