There is a maturity in Jack Chapple's voice that belies his age. And at 15, the year 9 Farrer student is a keeper of a proud family tradition.
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Next year, when he turns 16, the Moonbi teen will obtain his reinsman's licence and join his father, Dean, and elder sister, Elly, in the professional harness racing ranks.
Dean said his boy - who, like his 19-year-old sister, started in mini-trots at age five - was a natural: "nice, quiet hands" and a "good" reader of form.
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Jack, he added, also "sits nice in the gig".
The youngster had driven in 10 trials, Dean said, with six of them in Tamworth and four in the "Maitland-Newcastle area". He needs 20 to get his licence.
"He seems be coming along quite well," the veteran reinsman-trainer said.
"He's very calm and he's got good hands - the horses seem to go good for him."
Jack's best asset, Dean added, was his ability to "read form" - "he knows his horses, and he knows what's going on around him".
"You can get on a horse and be a good driver," Dean continued, "but you've gotta be able to read the form and work the races out ... and for such a young man, he's got a good talent for that."
The teen, Dean continued, "is lengths in front of where I was at that age".
"His potential's untapped. And I'm not saying that just because he's my son. Me and my brother talk about it all time."
Dean's brother, Guy, is a Maitland reinsman-trainer. Guy's son, Mitchell, followed him into the sport.
At Tamworth Paceway on Thursday, Dean notched his 700th win as a driver, on a horse he purchased for his son to use to get his reins licence.
Elly Chapple watched the race from Sydney, her new driving base. Jack hopes to emulate her and drive there one day.
He said he was "getting real keen" about racing.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity I've been given growing up around the sport - my uncle, cousin, sister and my dad all being in it ... So it's all around me," he said.
Harness racing, he added, was "all I've wanted to do".
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
