The Sisters are cheering – all in the name of charity

There are plenty of ways to inject the fun and goodness into harness racing – and the Luke and Felicity Bryant stable in northern Victoria have found one of the best.

Their Charity Sisters ownership group, which they started earlier this year, has been enjoying some good times with their horse Keayang Omar (Lincoln Royal) – to the benefit of nine chosen charities.

“I had someone say to me at the races they thought it was a nun’s group!” Bryant said.

“I told him it wasn’t – but that we were praying for a win! But it’s all my wife Felicity’s doing. She wanted a positive experience for women who wouldn’t otherwise get into harness racing, because they didn’t have the means or connections to be involved,” he said.

“At this stage of our career and life we thought, we are a bit older, we could do something good and it’ll bring benefits all round. We train the horse for free, and the women’s chosen charities get a portion of the stake money he wins.

“There are all sorts of causes, breast cancer, MS, Crohns and Colitis Australia, literacy and numeracy, brain cancer and Kids Under Cover and we’ve so far donated between $2000 and $3000. It’s all about giving the group members a taste of the sport, having some fun and doing some good.”

It’s also about supporting the Bryants’ young staffer, concession driver Grace Bilney, who began her career in harness racing last year without any prior background in the sport.

“We’ve had Grace with us for 12 months.  We helped her get her licence and she’s driving all our horses,” Bryant said.

“We generally have a team of around four, but with Grace here we’ve been able to increase that to eight.”

The most recent experience for the Charity Sisters was an open day and working bee at the Bryant property at Merrigum.

“Felicity had the idea and got it all together as a day for the group members and their partners, children, whoever they wanted to bring along.  It gave them a chance to look at the property and to meet us and Grace and the horses,” Bryant said.

“We had a coffee van and donut van, prizes for painting a lucky fence post and a phantom race call by our local race caller Dan Hibberd to give away some vouchers.

“And we’d had some fencing done earlier in the year and needed some fence posts painted – so for every one done, we made a donation to Kids Under Cover. I thought we might end up with 20 posts painted, but they hopped in and did 60.

“The property is looking a bit sharper, and we donated $275 – and we all had a great day.”

Bilney, who recorded her first win as a driver 12 months ago, now has a dozen victories and a creditable set of numbers beside her name for the 2023 season – 10 wins and 18 placings from 66 drives, including her first-ever double at Riverina Paceway Wagga Wagga earlier this month.

“I knew I was a chance on both of them (Keayang Alex and Always Be Chloe) but I wasn’t sure I would make the right decision at the right time – but it all worked out, so it was pretty exciting cool,” Bilney said.

“The driving side of things has definitely become a little easier, just in making decisions on different horses and where they need to be in the run to give them their best chance,” she said.

“You learn a lot by watching drivers like James Herbertson, Chris Alford and Ellen Tormey, the way they drive each horse individually and how quick their decision-making is during a race.

“I’m absolutely loving working here with Luke and Felicity.  They’ve given me a great opportunity and they’re helping me now to work towards getting my trainer’s licence.

“My family hasn’t had any background in the sport at all and I don’t think they were sure about it as a career path for me at first. But they’re on board now and watch all my drives – mum’s even got a share in Keayang Omar!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink