Newitt on track for century
JOCKEY Craig Newitt is rapidly closing in on 100 wins for the season with his treble in Devonport last Sunday taking his season tally to 90.
Newitt has been in Tasmania as a permanent resident for almost two years and with a 40-win lead he will win his third consecutive jockeys’ premiership with what should be a total of beyond 100 with six meetings remaining in the 2018-19 season.
“This season has been a really good one for me and that’s despite the circumstances I’ve had to deal with in my private life,” Newitt said.
“I have been able to stay focused on my riding and even towards the end of this season I’ve been able to make regular visits interstate to ride.
“I don’t think I would have been able to do what I’ve done this season without the support I’ve had off the track from my partner (Breaana Smith) and my four children have also kept me focused.”
Newitt said star stayer Eastender was the shining light of his season with the gelding winning three major cups.
“To be a part of Eastender’s rise as a stayer has been great and his stablemate Deroche was an outstanding two-yearold and I can hardly wait to see what she will do next season.”
Another talented young galloper from the Barry Campbell stable named Newhart also is on Newitt’s list of star performers.
“I reckon Newhart is the real deal because it’s very hard for the three-year-olds to win against the older horses, especially when they are as inexperienced as he is,” he said.
“Newhart is better than we all thought he was after his first win and he gives me the impression he will be better over more ground and he could be a Devonport Cup horse next season.”
Newitt is 40 wins clear of Siggy Carr, who bagged her 50th winner aboard Bedrock Dreams on Sunday and she is only five wins away from her best season ever.
Newitt is an odds-on chance to crack a century of wins but he might struggle to the state’s topple Brendon McCoull’s state record of 109 wins. ALL anyone wanted to talk about at Spreyton last Sunday was how Barry Campbell was able to saddle up his team of runners after being disqualified by South Australian stewards for three years last Friday as a result of charges laid against him over an incident involving Eastender on Adelaide Cup day in March.
There was a suggestion that Tasmania’s Office of Racing Integrity had allowed the trainer to proceed with running his small team (five horses) but it was revealed yesterday that SA stewards offered Campbell an interim stay of proceedings that expired at midnight on Sunday which allowed him to actively participate in Sunday’s Devonport meeting.
Campbell ended the meeting with three wins to take his season tally to 47, which is his best season since he won the trainer’s premiership with 62 winners in 1995-96.