ALL conquering 27-year-old Latrobe reinsman Gareth Rattray has established a handy lead in the 2013 Halwes Medal.
At the end of May, Rattray (102 votes) has a 19 vote lead over his father Barrie (83) with Rohan Hadley in third place with 68 votes.
The Halwes Medal is sponsored by BOTRA Tasmania and Jamie Cockshutt.
The award recognises excellence in horsemanship and operates under the following format:
A panel of 12 members is rostered to vote throughout the harness season (September 2012 to August 2013). Panel members are Jamie Cockshutt, Peter Cooley, Matt Jordan, Geoff Lucas, Greg Mansfield, Kevin Neilson, Matt Robertson, Rick Puccinelli, David Sales, Damien Seaton, Peter Staples and Shane Yates
Two panel members vote on each meeting and have 10 votes each.
The 10 votes can be allocated at the panel member’s discretion with a maximum of five votes for any trainer or driver.
Only Tasmanian registered licensed persons are eligible to receive votes.
Rattray, who recently moved to the North West Coast, is aiming for his eighth consecutive state driving title – a feat achieved by his father Barrie from 1990 to 1997. He won the inaugural Halwes Medal in 2011/2012 and a consistent performance in 2012/2013 has ensured he takes a clear margin heading into the last 19 meetings of the season, which concludes on August 31, 2013.
Halwes Medal votes for the last 19 meetings (June – August) will be blind and not announced until the Tasracing Harness Awards Dinner at Wrest Point Casino, Hobart on Saturday 21 September.
Outstanding performances in recent months have included:
- Heath Szczypka 10 votes at St Marys on 1 January – Training double.
- Christian Salter nine votes at Hobart on 6 January – Training and driving double.
- Rohan Hadley nine votes at Devonport on 7 January – Driving treble.
- James Rattray 10 votes at Launceston 20 January – Driving treble.
- Zeke Slater nine votes at Hobart 4 February – Training double.
- Heath Szczypka nine votes at Burnie 8 February – Training double.
- Justin Campbell 10 votes at Launceston 10 February – Training double.
- Barrie Rattray nine votes at Devonport on 10 March – Training quartet.
- Kristy Grant 10 votes at Carrick on 15 March – First career win.
- James Rattray 10 votes at Hobart on 17 March – Driving quartet.
- Barrie Rattray 10 votes at Hobart on 17 March – Training quartet.
- Craig Hayes 10 votes at Burnie 23 March – Driving treble.
- Barrie Rattray 10 votes at Launceston on 31 March – Training double.
- Adrian Collins nine votes at Devonport on 6 May – Driving double.
The BOTRA Young Achiever Award is run in conjunction with the Halwes Medal and is restricted to licensed persons aged 24 or under as at 1 September 2012. Todd Rattray leads with 30 votes followed by Mark Yole (25), Dylan Ford (23) and Matthew Howlett (18).
Halwes Medal votes to 1 June 2013 are:
102 Gareth Rattray
83 Barrie Rattray
68 Rohan Hadley
66 Zeke Slater
64 Grant Hodges
61 Rohan Hillier
51 James Rattray
45 Ricky Duggan
36 Heath Szczypka
34 Troy Hillier
30 Todd Rattray
27 Rod Plunkett
25 Andrew Rawlings, Mark Yole
24 Craig Hayes, Erin Hollaway, Christian Salter
23 Justin Campbell, Dylan Ford
21 Ben Yole
19 Rodney Ashwood
18 Nathan Ford, Matthew Howlett
17 Adrian Duggan
16 Tim Maine
13 Shelley Barnes, Adrian Collins
12 Natalee Emery, Kristy Grant, David Medhurst
11 Juanita McKenzie
10 Lyarna Graham, Michael Laugher, Kate MacLeod
9 Craig Toulmin
8 Adam Emery, Brooke Hammond, Eric Jacobson, Brent Parish, Roger Whitmore
7 James Austin, Marc Butler, Tony Petersen, Kent Rattray, Campbell Watt
6 Nicholas Brockman, Wayne Campbell, Melissa Maine, Mick Maxfield, Geoff Smith, Brady Woods
5 Gary Bishop
4 Maree Blake, Rod Burgess, Ken Hall, Paul Hill, Tom Jackson, Brian Mackrill, Phil Mascall, Sofie Svensson, Lindsay Tatnell, Chris Viney, Tim Yole
3 Andrew Arnott, Ivan Belbin, Steven Davis, Kevin Denny, Dick Eaves, Ron Mansfield, Damien Spring, Ian Swain, Craig Sweeney, Keith Toulmin, Wayne Watson, Clinton Woods
2 Jim Allen, Paul Ashwood, Daryl Bates, Kirk Bourne, Chester Bullock, Michael Castles, Matthew Dwyer, Kerry Edwards, Mark Geeves, Max Hadley, Chris Howlett, Scott Kirkwood, Steve Lukac, David Pennicott, Wayne Rainbird, Allister Woods
1 Phillip Aylett, Fred Barker, John Castles, Leon Davis, Bill Dornauf, Michael Dornauf, Robert Gillie, Michael Gordon, David Hall, Max Jacobson, Maurice Jarman, Clayton Miller, Doug Nettlefold, Brian Stanley, Paul Williams, Scott Woods