Former champion Victorian Reinsman Daryl “Dasher” Douglas remembered the Harness Racing World of his class in Bendendo tonight (October 1) and took his first victory in more than two years.
Douglas led the three -year -old Merrieveeulen Emjay Jazz (A RockNroll -Dance) To the victory in the Golden Central Victorian pace for his sister -in -law Julie Douglas, who shows the same precision and judgment who have defined his career.
The success came on just his third ride since December 2023, the month in which he recorded his previous victory over Stawell with Trotter Abitofadreamer (Used to me) for Kim Proctor.
That year (2023), Douglas had 348 discs for 25 wins and 75 placements. He did not rode in 2024 and made his return to Melton last weekend on 27 September (for a fourth on Starzinhereyes). Douglas only had one ride in Bendendo for the victory.
View the repeat here
The record of Douglas, largely founded during his high -flying run in the early 2000s, remains one of the best in Australian Harness Racing: 4694 winners and more than $ 29 million in commitment.
A six -time National Premiership winner, he has collected 138 group 1 victories, including Inter Dominion Triumphs with Golden Reign and Lennytheshark.
The fourth of the Late Keith and the six children of Judy Douglas, started to ride Douglas as 12-year-old horses. He was 18 when he signed up for his Harness racing driver’s license, and his first winner came on board Badland (Fire fire) in St Arnaud in 1991 for trainer Brian Owens.
His natural talent was matched by a ruthless work ethics, which travel in the entire state and national travel for more than two decades.
Although he was a capable driver in his early days, Douglas often acknowledged that a series of suspensions and injuries at the leading drivers of Victoria in 1998 provided what a career-definating break was for him.
“There was hardly anyone left, so I started picking up a lot of extra drives!” Douglas said.
He never looked back and broke the century marking that season for the first time – and then repeated it every year for the next 16 seasons, more often than not, double and triple centuries.
From 2015, Burnout saw Douglas step away from the sport for five years before he returned part -time in 2020. Although he now describes himself as a hobbyist, his Bendendo Drive was a reminder that his horseworthiness and instinct remain as sharp as always.
The Bendendo victory was vintage dasher: patient, balanced and timed to perfection.
For Julie Douglas’s stable it was another winner (one of the two for the night); For “Dasher” he recaptured the “buzz” that he has always received from driving.
And for Victorian Harness RaceFans, it was a memory of why he remains one of the most respected Reversmen in sport.
From Terry Gange for Harnesslink
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#Dasher #Groove #Bendendo #Win