Stars honoured on Sunday night

Stars of the turf will be honoured this Sunday night, 17 August at the 2014 Scobie Breasley Medal, featuring the Victorian Thoroughbred Racing Awards, presented by Racing Victoria (RV) at the Crown Entertainment Complex, Melbourne.

The gala evening will recognise the heroes of the thoroughbred racing industry and celebrate their feats on Victorian racetracks during the 2013-14 racing season, which concluded on 31 July.

Headlining the ceremony is Victorian racing’s most prestigious accolade, the Scobie Breasley Medal which is awarded to the most outstanding jockey across Victoria’s 110 metropolitan race meetings.

The Scobie Breasley Medal was established in 1996 and honours the late Hall of Fame jockey, with votes awarded on a 3-2-1 basis by RV stewards for the rides deemed to be the best at each metropolitan meeting of the season.

Inaugural winner Damien Oliver, who has claimed the accolade six times, will enter the evening as the favourite having piloted 59 city winners in the 2013-14 season.

Defending champion Michael Rodd is sure to challenge Oliver, as will four-time medallist Craig Williams and last season’s Victorian Premiership winner Brad Rawiller, who rode 154 winners across the state.

The state’s top-performing flat jockeys and trainers will also be recognised with the coveted Wilson Medic One Victorian and Metropolitan Premierships, incorporating the inaugural Roy Higgins Medal which will be presented to Damien Oliver as the Metropolitan Jockeys’ Premiership winner.  

The season’s premier jumps rider will be awarded the Tommy Corrigan Medal, with Steven Pateman chasing a record seventh win against competition from John Allen, Brad McLean, Richard Culley and Arron Lynch.

The rising stars of the sport will also be acknowledged with the Victorian Metropolitan Apprentices Award going to Katelyn Mallyon for the second time in three seasons. Mallyon, who became the first female to claim the title in 2012, finished the 2013-14 season with 31 winners on Victoria’s metropolitan racetracks – five wins clear of Jye McNeil and Harry Coffey.

The gala event will also celebrate Victoria’s leading trainers, owners, breeders and horses.

The Fred Hoysted Medal is the state’s highest honour for trainers awarded for the most outstanding training performance of the season. A selection committee headed by the Australian Trainers Association (ATA) nominates a finalist for each month of the 2013-14 season.

The seven Fred Hoysted Medal finalists are;

•   Mark Kavanagh – August 2013

•   Robert Heathcote – October 2013

•   Robbie Laing – November 2013 (tie) and June 2014 (tie)

•   Ciaron Maher – June 2014 (tie) and July 2014

•   Mick Price – September 2013, February 2014 and March 2014

•   Gai Waterhouse – November 2013 (tie)

•   Darren Weir – December 2013, January 2014, April 2014 and May 2014

The TVN Victorian Racehorse of the Year will acknowledge a new equine hero with the retired great Black Caviar having claimed the past three titles. The award is voted on by racing media and administrators and takes into account performances on Victorian tracks during the 2013-14 season. The four finalists are:

1.   Atlantic Jewel – 4 starts, 3 wins (2 x Group 1), 1 second;

2.   Fiorente – 7 starts, 4 wins (2 x Group 1), 1 third;

3.   Lankan Rupee – 7 starts, 6 wins (2 x Group 1), 1 third; and

4.   Shamus Award – 8 starts, 2 wins (2 x Group 1), 2 seconds, 2 thirds

The VRMA Bert Wolfe Media Award, presented by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC), will also be announced and accolades from Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria and the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association will be presented.