Winning is still a buzz for Webster

Geoff Webster might be one of Victoria’s most successful and respected harness racing horsemen but says the kick is still as big as it’s ever been when he makes it into the winners’ circle.

“Yes, I still get a buzz. I’m thoroughly enjoying it nowadays, and apart from the training and driving, I still break-in most of our own and do all our shoeing,” Webster said.

Based at Bannockburn, near Geelong, Webster wound back the clock this week with two superb steers to claim a driving double, and later posted a training treble.

“It was a pretty big 30 hours because we got a winner at Yarra Valley early Monday afternoon and then landed three-from-three at Terang the next night-the only one to let us down was two-year-old Ira Poole, who got it all wrong at Yarra Valley,” he said.

“You can get lucky at times and have these sorts of runs. I did think the three at Terang looked well placed, but you never know do you?”

Talented three-year-old trotter Bromwich (Majestic Son-Icantremember (Extrovert), raced by Webster’s partner Helen Plumb, recorded his fifth career win when successful at Yarra Valley.

“Greg Sugars drove him because he’s been doing a real good job on the horse in his past few runs. I tend not to travel a lot these days so we’re quite happy to put others on like Greg and Michael Bellman,” Webster said.

The Terang treble was kick-started by promising youngster Flirting (Art Major-Endeared (Albert Albert). Raced by Buckland Park Homestead, the pacer got home in the nick of time to snatch a narrow win in the Crawley’s Middle Hotel two-year-old pace.

Flirting was buried three back on the inside before Webster got into the clear on the home corner. The horse responded well to land her maiden victory.

Webster made it a race-to-race double when stable newcomer Be A Good Scout (BG’s Folly-Take Five Stella (Browning Blue Chip) took out the Ridley Agri-Products Pace.

Webster, who has been driving since the early 1970s, has followed in the footsteps of his father Lloyd, a Wayville champion driver, as well as his uncles Dick and Norm. The trio were major players in the halcyon days of South Australian harness racing.

Teenage Ballarat reinsman Connor Clarke showed good touch to win the last at Terang with the Webster-trained Belmont Royale (Betterthancheddar-Royal Spin (Village Jasper).

“I don’t mind driving around the country tracks. We’ve got 14 in work, and some are pretty handy. There’s also a fair few young ones and I recently bought a rising two-year-old that I really like,” he said.

Webster left South Australia in 2005 to settle permanently in Victoria on the heels of multiple South Australian premierships and four consecutive seasons where he’d driven over 100 winners!

But the laid back and likeable trainer/driver has continued to consistently churn out winners with horses such as Flaming Flutter, Mister Swinger, Mr Zion and others.

“Flaming Flutter is still racing in the US with Shane Tritton, and I would have to say that he would be my favorite,” Webster said.

“He was pretty special. The horse has now won over one million dollars in stakes,” he said.

“Mr Zion was unreal in that he won Group Ones as both a pacer and a trotter. One of his best wins was in a Mildura Pacing Cup.”

Webster certainly looks to have another first-class trotter in his care in the form of Aldebaran Misty (Skyvalley-Mason Magic (Kadabra), a winner of three of her four lifetime starts.

“She is a really nice filly who could get to the top. Her next start is this Saturday night, but she’s up against some smart boys, so we’ll see how we go,” he said.

Aldebaran Misty will compete in the $30,000 IRT Australia Tatlow Stakes G2 for 2YO Trotters at Ballarat.

By Terry Gange for Harnesslink