Double for “elite-level” hobbyist

There’s certainly not much former ace harness racing reinsman Daryl Douglas has left to learn about getting winners – and while he describes himself as a hobbyist these days, the pace of his new freelance-driving lifestyle appears a good fit.

Douglas has 4694 winners as a driver, and in excess of $29 million in stakes to his name, and the double he chalked up at the Victoria’s Saturday night (Jul. 23) Metropolitan meeting was vintage “Dasher” class.

Douglas scored a centimetre-perfect victory on seasoned performer Sicario (Somebeachsomewhere) for trainer Brent Lilley in the Vin Knight Memorial at Kilmore then made it a running double in the Group Three Jet Roofing Winter Championship with Interest Free (Art Major) for his trainer sister-in-law Julie Douglas.

“I’m not sure when I won a Group race last, but it would be a fair while,” Douglas observed.

“That (championship) was a nice race to win, and the Vin Knight (Memorial) as well.  I hadn’t even had my first race drive, wasn’t even trial driving when Vin was driving, but I definitely watched him a lot.”

The win on Interest Free was for long-time and loyal associate of Eric Anderson and the Douglas stable Robert Martin, who is the vice president of the Ballarat Harness Racing Club. Robert’s parents Joy and (the late) Brian would travel extensively to watch their horses and have always been big fans of Daryl Douglas.

The six times leading Australian reinsman spent five years away from the sport before returning on a part-time basis in 2020.

“As long as I don’t do it every day, I am enjoying being back in the sport,” Douglas said.

“It was all I’d ever known (before stepping away) and there’s a lot about it that can drive you insane.  When you’re depending on it for your livelihood and you lose your licence, you’re in all sorts of trouble,” he said.

“In the end I realised it’s just not worth it.  Now when it fits in around my work and I’m just doing it every now and then it’s a different feeling.

“I’m not reliant on it, I don’t have to win races to live, and it doesn’t matter what happens with the stewards because none of it affects my livelihood.”

And while he isn’t much for statistics and milestones these days, Douglas’s Saturday night at Kilmore showed his horsemanship and instinct is as sharp as ever.

“I said to someone during the day on Saturday that the only way that Sicario could get into that race was if they ran it upside down, and that’s pretty much what happened,” Douglas said.

“The other little horse, (3yo) Interest Free is handy, but I think he probably would have won it easier if I had have been able to sit parked outside the leader.  He still doesn’t know a lot about racing and if I’d been there, I think he would have had his mind on the job a bit better.

“The speed of racing has certainly increased, the drivers are different to when I left, and I’m not driving anywhere near the calibre of horse I used to, but that’s okay,” he said.

“I don’t look at the fields too much these days.  I used to see nearly every race, every day – now I have to sit down and actually watch the replays when I’ve got a drive and go through the formguides.  It’s certainly a lot harder to do the form nowadays than it was back when I was doing it full time.

“But I’ve always loved the competitiveness of it, the challenge of it.  Doing it now, I still love the speed of it, the buzz you get out of driving, but it’s a hobby and a hobby I mostly enjoy.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink