Race for junior title heating up
Two of Canterbury’s most promising young drivers are desperate to bank winners in Nelson this weekend.
Stevie Golding and Robbie Close are chasing the junior drivers premiership.
With premier racing taking a back seat until next season, both know their opportunities will only increase in the coming weeks.
Golding and Close have reasonable books on Friday and Sunday in Nelson.
Southerner Craig Ferguson leads the junior drivers championship with 33 wins, two ahead of Golding on 31 with Close tied for third on 24 with Rory McIlwrick.
Golding seems to have the upper hand with almost twice the meetings around the Canterbury region available than in the south.
And even if Ferguson travels regularly, Golding is attached to the powerful stable of Greg and Nina Hope.
With Thursday night’s Forbury Park meeting being cancelled due to flooding, Ferguson lost his only chance this weekend.
Both Close and Golding will be travelling wherever they can to pick up extra drives in the final weeks of the season.
With limited opportunities, Close has not picked up a winner since Saint Michel which helped seel his win in the Australasian Young Drivers Championship.
But the talented young reinsman is on a high after winning the series and wants to finish with a flourish to launch his open driving career when he losses his junior status next season.
Close said the Australasian championship week was an amazing experience.
“It’s a great series. Just meeting so many different people was a big thing on its own.
“It’s one of things were you need a bit of luck to get the right horses but you’ve still got to drive them properly to get across the line,” Close said. He sits on 88 career winners. “I really want to get to my 100 before the end of the season,” Close said.
“It might not happen but you’ve got to try your best and put the horses in the right paces and see what happens.”
The premiership could be tough ask for Close but he knows he still has plenty of quality drives coming before the season is done.
Close also has designs on de- fending the Darren De Filippi Memorial.
“It’s a great race to win and a great honour.
“I didn’t get to meet him but I’ve heard a lot of great stories about him,” Close said.
He also wants to win the New Zealand Junior Drivers Championship to be contested at Addington on July 16.
The Nelson Harness Racing Club has a 12 race card on Friday with the feature of Sunday’s meeting being the Nelson Winter Cup.
Dexter Dunn already has the drivers premiership locked away with 183 wins ahead with his nearest rival Blair Orange on 88.
Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen have a runaway lead in the trainers premiership with 129 wins, almost 40 ahead of Robert Dunn who sits in second place with 90 victories.
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