Nikki Cook wins Retrainer of the Year

TORQUAY thoroughbred retrainer Nikki Cook has recently been awarded Retrainer of the Year by Racing Victoria.

Cook said she was elated that the effort she and her team put in at Shory Park Horses has been acknowledged.

“We’re thrilled to be recognised for all our hard work and the countless hours we put in.”

Cook deals with horses that have finished their racing careers and have subsequently been sold or given away.

At Shory Park, they then re-home and reeducate the horses to prepare them for their new lives when they are eventually sold on.

In recent years, Shory Park Horses has grown into one of the biggest horse retraining businesses in Australia, with Cook and her team retraining around 100 thoroughbreds a year.

This is not the first time Cook’s work has been recognised by Racing Victoria, having won the Godolphin Stud and Staff Stable Award for Thoroughbred Care and Welfare in 2016.

Racing Victoria sees it as vital that racehorses are able to be successfully retrained once they have finished their on-track careers.

The the winner of the award was judged by a panel of five which included Olympian Amanda Ross and media personality Hamish McLachlan.