Monika no lone ranger

Twenty seven year old harness racing driver Monika Ranger has surrounded herself with some the country’s best drivers in David, Zachery, and Shane Butcher and she appreciates the advice that’s readily available when needed.

Now in her second season as a junior, Ranger has driven fourteen winners. Her first win was with Call Me Trouble (Superfast Stuart) at Alexandra Park in February 2022 for trainer Zachery Butcher.

Ranger attended Pukekohe High School. After completing her seventh form year she joined the Kidz Kartz programme aged twelve.

At Tony and Suzanne Herlihy’s stable she got her first experience as a stable hand.

“I liked driving the bigger horses and found them easier. I just wanted to make a bit of money in the holidays and there was a job at Tony and Suzanne’s. I went there and did all the groundwork. After I left school, I ended up getting a full time job there and I was there for five years,” she said.

Ranger said Tony bought her first race helmet. In the last three of her five years there she drove  trackwork and had her first drive at workouts.

These days she works at Lincoln Farms in the morning and then heads to Peter and Vaughan Blanchard’s in the afternoons.

“They’ve both been good and Pete puts me on when he can.”

She says it can be hard to get drives in the Northern region because of the strength in the junior driver ranks at the moment.

“Unless you have someone behind you it’s quite hard. I just chip away and I’ve got my own one (horse) in work. I look at the fields on a Monday and hope I get a drive because it’s fun when you’re out there.”

Although she doesn’t have a trainer’s license, she does most of the work with three year old filly Kourtney Kardash (Bettor’s Delight) which is under her partner Shane Butcher’s name.

“If she needs a bit of a rev up Shane will jump on.”

Kourtney Kardash is stabled at Lincoln Farms and has had just five starts with one of those a win at Alexandra Park.

“She’s been back in work for the last four weeks. I gave her five weeks out after the Three Year Old Sires Stakes Final. She’s a lot stronger now. I’ll try and aim for the Nevele R Three Year Old Fillies heats in September. Depending on how she’s going, I’ll decide whether I want to take her down south for the Final.”

Ranger says she doesn’t have full time training aspirations at this time.

“I haven’t thought about it too much. I like to train one or two but nothing too big. I quite like doing the driving.”

Shane has a fulltime job as a farrier, shoeing horses mainly for Lincoln Farms, Peter and Vaughan Blanchard, Michelle Wallis and Bernie Hackett and Steven Reid and Simon McMullan.

“That keeps him busy and pays for most of my bills as well (laughter).”

She says it’s special when the horses she and Shane own do well.

“Shanes bought a couple of horses and driving our horses is always a highlight. You do everything with them during the week and you go out and drive them on race day – it’s so good.”

Butcher purchased Ideal Dream (American Ideal) from Wayne Fausett as a nine start maiden. The four year old won three races for him with Ranger winning twice on the gelding.

“We sold him three weeks ago and he had his first start at Bankstown in Aussie the other day and he won. Just seeing that is pretty cool. They’re like your children and when you watch them you just feel proud.”

Last season Monika won the Junior Drivers Winter Series and part of the prize was air travel and work experience in Australia so she’s away to Perth on the 4^th of August.

“I’m going to go to Gary Hall Senior’s and Aiden De Campos. I’m there for nine days. I’ve been to Brisbane and Sydney, and I thought I’d like to go to West Australian and see how they do it. Shane’s going to tag along with me because he used to live in Perth. He’ll blunge the whole time (laughter).”

Ranger is considering whether to take her driving gear, insurance premiums are so high she feels it may not be worth it.

She hopes to make the cut for the New Zealand Junior Drivers Championship again. Currently on seventy nine points in the Championship, she’s sitting in seventh place on the North Island table where the top four drivers will qualify for the series final in October.

“It’s pretty hard when you only get one drive a week on average. I don’t think I can make it this year, but I was happy to make it last year.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink