Keeping it in the family

Mount Gambier Harness Racing Club Gold Cup’s 50th anniversary celebrations

The 50th anniversary Mount Gambier Harness Racing Gold Cup celebrations started in earnest at Friday night’s Calcutta, where more than 50 people packed the Mount Gambier Community RSL function room to celebrate the historic milestone.

The club’s Calcutta had been sparsely attended in recent years but club president Simon Phillips was thrilled to see the support for the 50th running of the club’s premier event.

“It is great to see a really good turnout – a lot better than the past few years,” Phillips said. “We’ve got more numbers on our committee this year so things a re probably on the up – a lot of hard work goes into it (the Gold Cup) as well.”

Phillips has his own fond memories of the sport and its premier race night.

“I have been going to the trots since I was three months old,” Phillips said, with the 1991 win of Irish Liner one of the more memorable in his time of heading to Greenwald Paceway as well as the back marking efforts of 2012 winner Come On Frank.

Last Friday night’s celebrations were headlined by award winning harness racing media personality Mel Kittle, who interviewed three of the local industry’s big names – life member and long standing trainer and driver Kevin Brough, talented third generation driver Jayson Finnis and long standing committeeman and trainer Neil Shepherd.

Kittle also started her spiel with a huge compliment for the local club.

“You have a great community here who work together,” she said. “Some of the people back in Adelaide could take that advice and work together a bit better.”

Kittle also has a multi-generational connection to the sport with a grandfather who was a driver and her father as a bookie.

Finnis, who won his first Gold Cup last year, driving for father Barry Finnis, reminisced on his early days in the sport, making his mark with his 2008 win with Jewel of Destiny at Gawler as a teenager. “All I ever wanted to be is a driver,” Finnis said.

“I was really lucky with my grandparents really backing me – they put me on everything they had. “I had the right people backing me – Kevin Brough and Dave Drury.”

Finnis now has a strong working relationship with his father Barry Finnis and trainer wife Alyce Finnis and that made his 2022 Gold Cup breakthrough victory all the more special.

“I always wanted to win the cup – my grandfather won it and so did my dad and pop as well,” Finnis said. “I probably tried too hard in the past, I would make a move and did it too hard but last year I just relaxed.”

Kevin Brough, who later in the evening cut the anniversary cake, was very clear on his plans for his assault on the 2023 cup.

“You have to be careful not to use all your petrol early – the 2500 sorts a few out and you don’t want to do too much work early,” Brough said, as he also shard his views on the standing versus the mobile start argument.

“I’m an old standing start guy where everybody takes their handicap – at the moment there is no such thing as a handicap,” Brough said. “The honest horses could win and I miss that.”

Neil Shepherd’s grandfather was one of the founding committeemen of the Mount Gambier Harness Racing Club and since its inception, his grandfather, father or himself have been on that committee.

“I just love the social aspect of it and it is a great sport,” Shepherd said. The 50th anniversary celebration also included the presentation of the 2022 season awards with the Medhurst-Finnis clan scooping the pool.

Jayson Finnis was named Driver of the Year, father Barry Finnis the Trainer of the Year, while grandfather Peter Medhurst took home the remaining awards – Leading Three Year Old with My Purple Patch; Most Improved Horse Four Years Old or Older True Blue Rose with the same horse claiming the top honour – Horse of the Year.

SPECIAL GUESTS: (Top left & inset) Life member Kevin Brough cuts the 50th anniversary cake and (top right) former president Phil Wood & current president Simon Phillips.

AWARD WINNERS: (Centre main) Barry Finnis (Trainer of the Year); Peter Medhurst (multiple award winner) & Jayson Finnis (Driver of the Year) ENTERTAINING THE CROWD: (Insets) Harness racing media personality Mel Kittle; long standing committeeman & current vice president Neil Shepherd and Calcutta auctioneer Ethan Bronca.

FINISH OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY GOLD CUP: Springfield Affair (5) edges out Sea Lover in a photo finish at Saturday night’s Matthews Petroleum Mount Gambier Gold Cup. MORE PHOTOS AND GOLD CUP RACE DETAILS IN SPORT