Reeves and Wheeler claim top Albany Harness Racing Club awards, Sadhita scores narrow win in Denmark Cup

For the third consecutive season, Hayden Reeves has won the Albany Harness Racing Club’s trainer of the year title.

Reeves had another dominant season at Harold Reid Paceway, notching 17 winners to finish clearly ahead of his nearest rival Lang Inwood.

From the 122 starters in Albany across the season, the Reeves stable had 17 winners and 36 minor placings, to collect 122 points.

Inwood had a terrific season with nine winners to finish second with 65 points.

Peter Anderson filled third with 41 after chalking up seven winners from just 33 starters.

The Coolup-based Reeves said it was another pleasing season in Albany.

“Albany has always been really good to me, he said.

“I grew up in Denmark and have a lot of people who were my dad’s friends that are there and involved with the club.

“The committee does a really good job and we’ll keep coming down.”

Reeves rounded out the season with a winning double at Friday night’s final meeting, helping better his tally of 14 winners in 2021-22.

“There are no easy places to win races so your horses always have to be going well,” Reeves said.

“You have to take what you can get and we were very fortunate to have a good team this season.

“Any race Tubbs Farquhar wins is special as we bought him for $500 and he has run two seconds in the Denmark Cup.

“Big thanks to Dean Miller who took the truck down and drove most of the horses for us and everyone else that helped out on race nights.”

El Jessie ($13) was a narrow winner of the Peter Morrison Memorial (2247m) for Reeves and driver Jack Justins.

The six-year-old mare won by a half-neck over stablemate Maddy Maddy, while Batavia Blackhole, also from the Reeves stable, finished third.

Reeves and reinsman Dean Miller teamed up to win the final race of the season with raging $1.40 favourite Nyarnyee Navajo, who saluted by 4.3m.

The $11,000 MCC Contractors Denmark Cup (2265m) was won by talented pacer Sadhita ($1.65).

The Barry Howlett-trained gelding led all the way for leading reinsman Trent Wheeler and downed Tubbs Farquhar by 1.5m on the line while Tux And Tails was back in third.

It was the second leg of a double for Wheeler after he claimed the first race with short-priced favourite Worlds Above for the Anderson stable.

Worlds Above was in a class of his own, dominating the two-year-old race to win by more than 27m.

Howlett had two winners on the nine-race card after Brulee was also successful, while Inwood tasted success with Wattabout Rioli.

In the AHRC Reinsperson of the Year title, Wheeler won with 79 points after 12 winners across 47 drives.

He edged out Miller (72 points) while Emily Johnson was third on 64.

Fleur Du Maquis and Tubbs Farquhar finished with 16 points each in the AHRC Pacer of the Year standings, but Fleur Du Maquis had more victories to win on a countback.