With the 2021/22 racing season coming to an end, various horses and individuals in the Northern Territory will be rewarded for their accomplishments.
The Top End Racing Awards will be hosted by the Darwin Turf Club at the Fannie Bay Racecourse’s new Public Grandstand on Friday, September 16.
The Alice Springs Turf Club will host its awards night at the 1690 Restaurant and Bar at the Pioneer Park Racecourse on Saturday, November 5.
Both nights will celebrate and recognise racing excellence in the Top End and Red Centre.
The Top End and Country region accommodates the Darwin Turf Club, Adelaide River Show Society Race Club and Katherine Turf Club.
Unfortunately, the annual Adelaide River Cup Day meeting scheduled for June 4 was transferred to Darwin following damage caused by feral pigs to the NT’s one and only grassed surface.
The annual Katherine Cup Day meeting was held on August 13.
The Alice Springs and Provincial region accommodates the Alice Springs Turf Club and Tennant Creek Racing Club, with the annual Tennant Creek Cup Day meeting taking centre stage on May 14.
The Darwin Turf Club hosts 38 race meetings a year, with the Cup Carnival – which includes eight meetings – taking place from the first Saturday in July until the first Monday in August.
The Alice Springs Turf Club hosts 33 race meetings a year, with the Cup Carnival – which includes five meetings – taking place from the second Saturday in April until the first Monday in May.
Nominations for the 2022 Top End Racing Awards have been released, as follows:
Three-Year-Old of the Year – Expert Witness (Tayarn Halter), First Crusade (Chloe Baxter), Venting (Kerry Petrick), Wolfburn (Gary Clarke)
Middle Distance/Stayer of the Year – Against The Tide (Emma Steel), Count Of Essex (Gary Clarke), Jet Jackson (Mark Nyhan), Starouz (Angela Forster), Wolfburn (Gary Clarke)
Out Of Carnival Performer of the Year – Count Of Essex (Gary Clarke), Jet Jackson (Mark Nyhan), Looking For You (Phil Cole), Masterati (Nicole Irwin), Mighty Murt (Garry Lefoe), Overruled (Emma Steel), Pembroke Castle (Mark Nyhan), Syncline (Gary Clarke)
Sprinter of the Year – Autocratic (Gary Clarke), Eastwood (Tayarn Halter), El Magnificence (Phil Cole), Ideas Man (Chris Nash), Our Luca (Kerry Petrick), Smuggling (Phil Cole), Syncline (Gary Clarke)
The winners in all four categories are then to be considered for the Horse of the Year Award.
Other awards to be presented are as follows:
- Trainer of the Year (Gary Clarke)
- Jockey of the Year (Jarrod Todd)
- Apprentice Jockey of the Year (Jade Hampson)
- Strapper of the Year
- Character of Racing
- Off the Track Aftercare
- Women in Thoroughbred Racing NT Leading Female Trainer (Tayarn Halter)
- Women in Thoroughbred Racing NT Leading Female Jockey (Sonja Wiseman)
- Leading Trainer during the Darwin Cup Carnival (Gary Clarke)
- Leading Jockey during the Darwin Cup Carnival (Jarrod Todd)
The Country Performer of the Year Award will not be presented this year due to the fact that the Adelaide River Cup Day meeting failed to go ahead.
The criteria for the award is for a horse to perform with distinction at both the Adelaide River Cup Day and Katherine Cup Day meetings.
Nominations for the 2022 Alice Springs Turf Club’s Horse of the Year Awards have been released as well:
Three-Year-Old of the Year – Dakota Lee (Terry Gillett), Flying Start (Greg Connor)
Stayer of the Year (for races over 1400m or further) – Bench Press (Terry Gillett), Dataset (Jess Gleeson), That’s Justified (Terry Gillett), Zelring (Lisa Whittle)
Sprinter of the Year (for races up to 1200m) – Dakota Lee (Terry Gillett), Kummerlings (Ray Viney), Like A Heartbeat (Lisa Whittle), Miles Prower (Greg Connor), Our Luca (Kerry Petrick), Roppongi (Terry Gillett), Supreme Times (Terry Gillett)
Horse of the Year (all categories) – Dakota Lee (Terry Gillett), Dataset (Jess Gleeson), Flying Start (Greg Connor), Mathematics (Lisa Whittle), Supreme Times (Terry Gillett)
Other awards to be presented are as follows:
- Trainer of the Year (Lisa Whittle)
- Jockey of the Year (Stan Tsaikos)
- Apprentice of the Year (Ianish Luximon)
- Women in Thoroughbred Racing NT Leading Female Trainer (Lisa Whittle)
- Women in Thoroughbred Racing NT Leading Female Jockey (Jessie Philpot)
- Leading Trainer during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival (Kym Healy)
- Leading Jockey during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival (Sonja Wiseman)
For the Top End Racing Awards and Alice Springs Horse of the Year Awards, both the Darwin Turf Club and Alice Springs Turf Club appointed an independent judging panel who were involved in a confidential voting process to determine the winner in all categories.
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