Thoroughbred Racing Industry Awards

Saturday September 1 at Morphettville the 2018 South Australian Industry Awards were presented and it was a night very much dominated by the fairer sex.

In the riding ranks star jockey Jamie Kah dominated by picking up four awards. In a wonderful 2017-18 season where only two jockeys in Australia rode more winners than Jamie, she collected the Glennon-Johnson Award for South Australian Metropolitan Jockey of the Year, the UBET South Australian Provincial and Country Jockey of the Year, overall South Australian Jockey of the Year and collected a fourth John Letts Medal as voted upon by the Stewards after each race meeting throughout the season across the State.

In the Apprentice Jockey’s category Raquel Clark and Kayla Crowther made it a clean sweep for the females in all riding Awards. Raquel Clark won both the UBET SA Metropolitan Apprentice of the Year and the Leon Macdonald Award for South Australian Apprentice of the Year, whilst Kayla Crowther won the Caitlin Forrest South Australian Provincial and Country Apprentice of the Year.

Lloyd Kennewell’s outstanding mare Viddora kept the ladies in the limelight by capturing the main horse award for the 2017-18 season. On the back of her Group 1 success in Perth in the Winterbottom Stakes and win in the Gold Coast Magic Millions Sprint, Viddora was crowned the Festival Hire South Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year.

Tony McEvoy capped a brilliant twelve months which saw him finish ninth nationally for total wins trained in the Country, by taking home the South Australian Metropolitan Trainer of the Year and the CS Hayes Award for South Australian Trainer of the Year.

Grant Young too celebrated a big year for his stable by taking home the UBET South Australian Provincial and Country Trainer of the Year Award.

The other big highlight of the night was the induction of Clare Lindop, Harry Perks and Redelva into the South Australian Racing Hall of Fame.

Clare Lindop who retired from race riding recently, was inducted after an outstanding career in the saddle. Riding more than 1400 winners, including four Group 1s, Clare was a true trailblazer for female jockeys in this Country.

Clare’s Group 1 winners were the 2006 Adelaide Cup on Exalted Time, aboard Rebel Raider she won both the 2008 Victorian Derby and 2009 SA Derby, and Lone Rock in 2011 provided Clare with success in the State’s biggest sprint race The Goodwood.

It was Clare’s victory in the 2008 Victorian Derby on Rebel Raider at Flemington that she acknowledged as her biggest career highlight on Saturday night in her acceptance speech.

Harry Perks entered the Hall of Fame in the Associate ranks for his contribution to racing as both an owner and breeder. Amongst the hundreds of winners Harry has bred to date, there are thirteen Group 1 winners. Eleven of those went on to race in Harry’s ownership. When pressed on the best horses to have raced in Harry’s colours, he broke it down like this. Gold Guru, a three times Group 1 winner, and Australian Champion Three Year Old of his Year, was his best colt and still today at 24 years of age plays a role in Harry’s breeding empire acting as a babysitter to the young horses in the paddocks of Mill Park. Harry’s best filly he names as  Southern Speed who won seven races and $2.8 Million in prizemoney with her biggest success being the 2011 Caulfield Cup.

After a wonderful career on the racetrack, Redelva was also inducted into the South Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Trained by Greg Varcoe at Millicent in the South-East of the State, Redelva won 21 of his 61 starts and almost $1.8 Million in stakemoney. Racing from a two year old until the age of nine, Redelva continually took on the best sprinters in the nation. Three Group 1 victories would stand out in his career, the 1990 Lightning Stakes at Flemington, the 1991 William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley and 1991 Futurity Stakes at Caulfield. Greg Varcoe was joined for Redelva’s induction by South Australian and Australian Racing Hall of Famer John Letts who won eight races on Redelva and Neville “Nifty” Wilson who rode Redelva to his three Group 1 victories and in all rode him to twelve of his twenty one wins.

2018 Thoroughbred Racing Industry Awards and Hall of Fame Award winners