It was a case of double delight at Albion Park on Tuesday for young Queensland horseman Bart Cockburn.
Cockburn registered his first century of winners in Queensland for the current term and in doing so, set a new track record for trotters with stable favourite Supper Waltz Wilson.
Stranded on 99 winners for what seemed like an eternity, Cockburn made a good thing of it with the in-form trotter while recording a time of 1;58.3 for the 1660m event.
The previous mark was held by Millburn Michael at 1;58.5.
“I was beginning to think I was never going to reach the 100 club. I went close in the final race on Saturday night but to bring it up in this manner is extra special.” Cockburn said.
The milestone occasion was marked by the fact that Bart's grandfather Lawson, owner of Supper Waltz Wilson was able to make it to the track.
Cockburn, 22, is the son of John and grandson of the legendary Darling Downs based Lawson, both of which are accomplished horsemen in their own right.
“Harness racing was in my blood from a very tender age you could say and I have always loved the horses but my parents made sure I gained a proper trade before diving straight into the horses upon leaving school.
I've really enjoyed the last couple of years in my life; working for stables like Darrel Graham and then Grant Dixon has proven to be the best thing I could've done and I really appreciate everything that they both taught me.
Meeting the people from within the industry has been great and I've made some great friendships, a lot of smaller trainers have proven to be very supportive like Graham White, John Davis and many more.”
Cockburn was selected as the state's representative earlier this season in the Australasian Young Drivers Championship in Perth where he finished as the runner-up behind Victorian reinsperson Ellen Tormey.
Stable star Supper Waltz Wilson has provided the third generation horseman with plenty of thrills during the current term winning six races including the Gold Coast Trotters Marathon at Parklands.
The New Zealand bred gelding boasts an extraordinary strike rate of six wins and four placings from 11 starts since being purchased from the stables of Francis Weston.
“Supper has been great for the stable. He wasn't an overly expensive purchase and he still has plenty go.
If we can pick up a few more metro races here soon, we will definitely consider a trip to Sydney and try our luck at Menangle. He's beaten Savona and she keeps doing the job down there so that gives us a good guide.
He's not a hard horse to train and we don't think we're doing anything special with him. He's just enjoying himself up here on the range and we're enjoying having him around.”
Cockburn becomes the fourth driver in Queensland to reach the century of winners this season behind Grant Dixon, Shane Graham and Pete McMullen.
Racing Qld web news by Chris Barsby
Photo by Corey Pearce
