He’s back and winning on the double!

South Australian horseman Josh Holberton barely missed a beat after four years on the sidelines, bouncing into winning form with a double at the Globe Derby harness racing meeting at the weekend (Oct 8).

Holberton suffered serious injuries in shocking race fall in May 2018 in the Golden Nursery final at Globe Derby and only a week ago made his comeback to race driving.

“I fractured my sternum and had a hematoma on the brain, then had a seizure when I came to.  It was a pretty bad fall,” Holberton said.

“They took my car licence off me for six months just in case I had another seizure, and it was a long, slow road back,” he said.

“It was great to be back at the races and the opportunity to drive some really nice horses. Even better, to get a couple of winners on Saturday night felt terrific.”

Holberton scored a narrow win on four-year-old mare Dancing Finn (Rocknroll Dance) in a heat of the 2022 Platinum Pacing Cup and followed up with a victory on short-priced favorite Rupert Ross (Huntsville) in the SA Sapling Stakes.

Holberton admitted he was cautious about returning to the sulky but said the lure of the sport was strong.

“My partner Megan (Peters) is not really that happy with me back driving, but there’s not much you can do once you’ve got the bug – I just hope she’ll come around!  My mum tracks all my drives and my five-year-old son Jack is behind me all the way,” he said.

“Racing was a pretty big part of my life, and I definitely missed it, so once I got better, I started helping dad (Lance) with his team again, but I just took small steps, as I could, slow and careful.

“Getting back to race driving was to help dad out really, because they were needing someone to drive.  I’m fortunate that the owners who have horses with dad were happy to give me a go.”

Dancing Finn is raced by a group of owners including the Curnow family and Kevin Stanley, but Holberton said the win on Rupert Ross, for the Webster family was special.

“The horse was bred by (the late) Mark Webster, and after Mark passed away Carolyn and Laura handed him on to dad to train,” he said.

“Mark was someone I looked up to and someone I was very lucky to be mentored by.  He was a genius driver and a genius horseman and a very cluey bloke.  He helped me out a lot and I will forever be thankful.

“Ross looks to be a very nice horse and I’m grateful that the family has been willing to let me drive him.”

Holberton, an electrician by trade, has driven 125 winners in his career, and prior to the accident was driving in between 300 and 500 races a season.

“Before the fall I wasn’t desperate for drives, but I was willing to drive anything and everything – it’s a bit different now, I’m really happy to be just driving dads for the time being,” he said.

“I work full time, so I’m only able to do what I can do.  Dad has a team of four in work, and I help him and his partner Mary out in the mornings, then head off to work.  Mary’s great – it’s like a well-oiled machine at the stables with her running the show!

“We’ve been a bit low-key with the team only just now returning to the track.  Dad had a triple heart bypass, so we quietened right down for a while. He had a spell for about six months and has just come back gradually.

“But we’re all back and definitely enjoying it now. It’s nice when you have good horses and especially a couple of very nice ones to look to the future with.”

Dancing Finn will now be pointed to the Gawler Cup next week, while Rupert Ross will have a race-free week before contesting the heats of the Golden Nursery.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink