Sport
27 March, 2026
Tormey trains Horse of the Year
AMONGST the winners at Maryborough on Monday was the John Tormey trained, Jack Laugher driven Shaq who was recently announced as the Bendigo HRC’s 2025 Horse of the Year.
AMONGST the winners at Maryborough on Monday was the John Tormey trained, Jack Laugher driven Shaq who was recently announced as the Bendigo HRC’s 2025 Horse of the Year.
The nine-year-old gelding by Mach Three CA has been a model of consistency since his first start in a 2yo race at Swan Hill in February 2019 and has now had 227 starts for 27 wins and 66 placings and earnings of $173,595. He was an acceptor for last night’s Shepparton meeting.
The Berrimal trained trotter Poppy Popstar clocked up a milestone at the Maryborough meeting when she had her one hundredth race start and the icing on the cake was a very easy victory for the seven-year-old Danny Bouchea mare.
Raced by Tarah and Jack McNamara and driven by James Herbertson she has now won on ten occasions, five of them at Maryborough, with Monday’s winning margin being 20.5m and a 1.59.8-mile rate for the 2190m trip.
It had been twelve months since the talented but challenging trotter Blackrange Glory had won a race, so it was pleasing for his Inglewood connections, Marie and Luke Ralph, to see him do almost everything right in his win at Maryborough. At just his second start after a lengthy break away from the track.
Trained and driven by Mick Bellman the seven-year-old Tennotrump gelding won untouched by 1.6m rating a career best time of 1.59.4.
The Mildura meeting on Friday was the first of a double-header for the day and the return to form by Prioritise has come at the right time with the two-night Mildura Cup carnival scheduled to start on April 7.
The pacer who lists Bob Egan in its ownership group drew the outside of the front row but was driven aggressively from the start by Jack Laugher to easily clear the field. It was on the pegs well before the first turn.
From there it was a procession with Laugher, who was having his first drive on the five-year-old, letting him run from the start of the home turn to win easily by 10.2m in 1.56.4 Friday night it was racing at Melton with Charlton trainer Tori Hutchins winning race 3 with her more than handy trotter Rakero Warrior.
Driven by Jordan Leedham, who made a mid-race winning move from near last to the lead, “Wazza” was too strong at the finish to win by 6.7m in what was the winners seventh success in fourteen starts for Tori and Luke.
They will race at Bendigo tonight then off to the Home of the Redwood, Maryborough on Monday and Tuesday night is Swan Hill.
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