King wears the HOTY crown again

Multiple Group 1 winner King Of Swing has been crowned Gallaghers Horse of the Year at the New South Wales harness racing awards in Sydney.

It is back-to-back Horse of the Year titles for the Belinda McCarthy-trained champion, who this Saturday will chase an unprecedented third straight Miracle Mile trophy.

‘The King’ was a unanimous choice for the award, voted on by an independent panel of media judges.

It was yet another hugely successful year for King Of Swing in 2021, with victories in the Group 1 Miracle Mile and Schweppes Sprint, a clean-sweep of the three Inter Dominion heats and placings in the Group 1 Hunter Cup and Blacks A Fake interstate.

Last month he won the Australian Harness Horse of the Year for the second successive year.

King Of Swing was also awarded NSW Aged Horse of the Year while his trainer Belinda McCarthy took out NSW Trainer of the Year after a season which yielded 130 victories across the state.

He beat fellow Horse of the Year finalists Anntonia and My Ultimate Byron for the award, but they were also duly recognised for their achievements in 2021.

Anntonia was a clear-cut winner of the Three-Year-Old of the Year after a season that netted three Group 1 titles.

The David Thorn trained filly won the NSW Oaks in February before heading to Bathurst and taking out the Gold Bracelet a month later. She returned from that campaign later in the year and won the 3YO fillies final of the NSW Breeders Challenge Series in the fastest time ever recorded by a #YO filly in the southern hemisphere.

In 12 starts in 2021, Anntonia won nine times. Of her three defeats, two of those were in qualifying heats for Group 1 events she went on to win. The other was a third place in the Group 1 APG Final at Melton.

The Two-Year-Old of the Year was won by the Jarrod Alchin trained My Ultimate Byron.

After bursting on the scene at Newcastle in April last year, he strung together seven straight victories on Metropolitan tracks before closing out his campaign with his lone defeat as a narrow runner-up in the Group 1 Colts and Geldings final of the NSW Breeders Challenge Series.

His driver Cameron Hart won the NSW Driver of the Year after topping the premiership standings with 174 winners state-wide.

Rickie Alchin’s ageless warrior Tough Monarch took out the Trotter of the Year award for the second year running following a season which secured victories in three states and a spot in the 2021 Inter Dominion Championships Grand Final.

The full list of winners is:

TAB Two-Year-Old Trotter of the Year:

Tough Love

TAB Two-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year:

Madrid

TAB Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Pacer of the Year:

My Ultimate Byron

TAB NSW Two-Year-Old of the Year:

My Ultimate Byron

TAB Three-Year-Old Trotter of the Year:

Aldebaran Ursula

TAB Three-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year:

Anntonia

TAB Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Pacer of the Year:

Tasty Delight

TAB NSW Three-Year-Old of the Year:

Anntonia

TAB Aged Trotter of the Year:

Tough Monarch

TAB Aged Mare Pacer of the Year:

Bettor Enforce

TAB Aged Entire/Gelding Pacer of the Year:

King Of Swing

TAB Aged Horse of the Year:

King Of Swing

Gallaghers Horse of the Year:

King Of Swing

KS Black & Co NSW Broodmare of the Year:

Jerada Ace

Cockburn & Co NSW Sire of the Year:

For A Reason

Cockburn & Co Owner of the Year:

Antoinette & Charlie Sammut

Cockburn & Co Breeder of the Year:

Craig Judd

Garrards Trainer of the Year:

Belinda McCarthy

Garrards Driver of the Year:

Cameron Hart

Garrards Concession Driver of the Year:

Cameron Hart