Queensland pacer I’m Norma Jean won the $25,000 Hygain Golden Guitar Final after gaining entry on the eve of the Listed Classic race. The mare was enumerated as the first emergency in the field and when a scratching occurred, the mare retained her draw of the one barrier to produce an all-the-way win with with Pete McMullen in the gig.

For the trainer of I’m Norma Jean – Stockleigh-based Peter Greig – January has been a big month. Earlier in the month, Greig had notched up 900 career training wins and continued on after his Golden Guitar success with training a double at Albion Park on Saturday night.

YESNOMAYBESO for Hunter Valley trainer Aaron Garaty won the Pit Express Starmaker for three-year-old pacers with the gelding producing his first career win in the feature at race start 18. The horse was driven by Sydney reinsman Josh Gallagher who sent Yesnomaybeso five wide around the final turn to come away for an impressive win.

TAMWORTH’S own Gottashopearly (Brad Elder) from the Richard Williams stables was a popular win when the current Tamworth Horse of the Year won the Garrard’s Horse & Hound Tamworth City Cup before heading to Goulburn last Monday for an unlucky run in the Goulburn Cup (Group 3) to finish 6th to Conviction from the Steve Turnbull stables.

Williams had a good carnival with his other stable runner Midnight Montana producing two wins over the Carnival.

THE Bus from the Aaron Goadsby stables was the dominant horse over the carnival in taking out The Pub Group Gold Nugget before a Golden Guitar heat win and finishing second to I’m Norma Jean in the Hygain Golden Guitar Final after placing in an enormous run from the back of the field.

TICKET Outa Here produced a win that trainer and part-owner Ron Neal will savour for a while in taking out the Hazell’s Farm & Fertilizer Services Local Pace.

“I had to let him go to settle him down,” reinswoman Lola Weidemann said on returning to scale. “I held up longer than I liked and they got away on me but he did a good job to win.

“It was probably a bad drive turned into a good job as the horse did the work.”

Ron Neal was on the sidelines helping Ticket Outa Here to reach the line with Neal only having the gelding for seven race starts before the win.

Ticket Outa Here had a short half-head win over race favourite Shadow Dealer from the Wayne Gray stables and Jackeroo Shannon (Sarah Rushbrook) 9m away third with a mile rate of 1.59.7 after a four-wide run around the final turn. 

The Werris Creek trainer Ron Neal was lost for words as to his last winner – some say it was Sailors Joy back in the late 1990s. Great way to start the new year off.

SHADOW Dealer from the Wayne Gray stables then took to the Dubbo Paceway on Wednesday night to produce an impressive win with Tamworth reinswoman Maddi Young guiding the gelding to the finish line. Shadow Dealer was having his seventh career win and 10 placings from 21 race starts.

VICTORIAN Kerryn Manning is now a living legend after being the 27th recipient inducted into the Caduceus Club. Manning is the world’s most winning female in both codes - harness and thoroughbreds with near on 4000 winning drives. She was also the first driver to win 300 races in a season in either Australia or NZ and is the first woman to drive a winner in both hemispheres. Kerryn has also trained more than 1000 winners and is the first female to be inducted into the Caduceus Club.

IT is that Teal time of year again! Sydney trainer Kerry Ann Turner has been named the Team Teal Ambassador for NSW with the Teal Appeal to start on Friday, February 1 to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. All female drivers will be donning the teal-coloured pants in February and for each Teal winner HRNSW will donate $200 to the Women’s Cancer Foundation.

HARNESS racing will resume at Tamworth on February 7 with the Old Boys Day with Newcastle to showcase their feature - The Newcastle Mile (Group 1) on Friday, February 8 with the winner receiving an invite into the Miracle Mile.