Track record: “I was sliding on the corners!”

Young up-and-coming harness racing driver Ryan Backhouse smashed the clock last week when he posted a runaway 48-metre victory at Australia’s smallest track.

The 18-year-old, based at Horsham, took the drive on bay gelding Iambecauseofyou (Racing Hill) in the Workies Club Mile at Broken Hill last Saturday night (Feb 24).  The circuit is officially 602 metres in circumference.

“I thought we were moving because I was sliding a bit on the corners. But to get out in front and bowl along is the best way to drive the horse,” Backhouse said.

To watch the race replay, click here.

Iambecauseofyou, prepared by in-form Sunraysia trainer Naomi Kerr, returned a mile rate of 1.56-5 for the 1610m event, which eclipsed the previous best held by Paradoo Magic (D M Dillinger) by over three seconds.

In her racing career, Paradoo Magic, trained by astute former trainer-driver Anthony Adams, was renowned for her turn of foot. She posted a time of 1.59 back on February 27, 2009. In the breeding barn, the mare produced good winners in Mister Magic Man (31 wins) (Mister Big), Imthemightyjudd (9 wins) (Grinfromeartoear), and Lifeplusten (8 wins) (Safari).

Backhouse, who moved from Tasmania to work with Aaron Dunn at the beginning of last year has made three trips to Broken Hill meetings this year.

“It’s a long way to go, but I really enjoy it up there. I’d been driving at Mildura meetings for Naomi and when she said she was planning to race at Broken Hill, I was a starter,” he said.

It’s been a winning partnership, with the trips to “the hill” resulting in seven wins this season.

“Iambecauseofyou has been a good earner with four wins from eight starts since Naomi got him. He can be a bit of a handful and the more you fight him, it doesn’t do him any good,” Backhouse said.

“It’s much better to just let him bowl along and he felt terrific the other night. I just tried to rate him nicely, but I knew we were running because my cart was sliding a bit around the corners.”

Backhouse obliterated his rivals in quarters of 27.7, 29, 29.4 and 30.4 – certainly low-flying around the tight Broken Hill circuit.

The club in outback NSW is gearing up for its main meeting of the year on Friday, March 15, with the running of the $20,000 Rocky Baker Memorial Pacing Cup. It will be over the marathon trip of 2500 metres and restricted to 55 to 65 class pacers that haven’t won more than $5000 in their last three starts.

But races catering for most classes are programmed, each worth $12,600, and it is the only meeting of the Broken Hill season to receive Sky Channel and TAB betting coverage. Combined with the major thoroughbred feature for the season on the Saturday it’s a festive St Pats weekend in the Silver City.

Carbine Chemicals is again the naming rights sponsor of the Cup meeting.  A former local, the late Raymond “Rocky” Baker established the popular line of horse products in the 1980s and now run by his son Jensen, the company continues to be the club’s major sponsor.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink