Sarah O’Reilly returns this week

After 15 months away one of the country’s brightest harness racing talents Sarah O’Reilly will return to competitive driving at Addington on Friday night.

“I definitely missed it,” says O’Reilly, “and I am ready and good to go.”

The Ashburton-based trainer-driver has been off the scene since July 2024 when a horse literally jumped into her cart during trackwork, breaking her arm and causing other injuries.

Since then the road to recovery has been a long and trying one.

Some weeks ago O’Reilly got the all clear to return to light duties at her employer Brent and Tim White’s stables and then today she passed another big milestone by driving at the trials.

She even reined home a winner!

“All went well, my arm felt good – it was very pleasing,” says O’Reilly. 

Now the way is clear for a return to race night driving and on Friday she will drive Moses, trained by her father Gerard, in the Remembering Murray Butt Mobile Trot.

She will have another three drives at Oamaru on Sunday.

A former champion junior driver O’Reilly is now in the open ranks and has had more than 300 winners since her first in April 2018.

by Dave Di Somma, for Harness News Desk