To be entirely honest, I had forgotten that such awards existed, so was surprised to learn that our homebred Our Echo had been judged top South Island sprinter for the 2023-2024 season. I assumed that his victory in March’s WRC Lightning Handicap had clinched the deal.
So, as you do, I got Googling to discover more details. There was nothing about the awards celebration, except for a list of winners. As I scanned down the list, I noticed that the Champion Stayer award had gone to Shockallia. Readers of this site will recall that this son of Shocking was a Cloughmore recommended mating back in the day.
To be fair, I was pretty chuffed. Both horses deserve some sort of recognition – as do their trainers, jockeys, work riders, stablehands, vets and farriers.
Racing is very much a team sport.
