THE 2013-14 harness racing season comes to a close for the Dubbo Harness Racing Club tonight, and while most of the club's premierships have been wrapped up there will still be some intrigue throughout the meeting.
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The Kissing Bandit will win horse of the year while his trainer Mick Pay has a narrow but unassailable lead in the local trainer of the year award.
Baked In The City can't be caught for the 2yo/3yo of the year title but can end the season on a high when he runs. Kurt Lew will win the local drivers award and Mitch Turnbull has sewn up the under-23 driver of the year prize.
With Bathurst's Turnbull clan not racing at Dubbo tonight, John O'Shea can't be caught in the leading driver section, but Steve Turnbull's grip on the leading trainer prize could come under threat.
Turnbull holds a 13-point lead over Nathan Hurst, with the latter to have four runners. However he rates himself only an outside chance of running down the margin.
Hurst is in Victoria currently, with his stable star Saloon Passage set to compete in the Breeders Crown 3yo Final on Sunday, and Blair Hurst will deputise for him tonight.
"We have the four runners going around at Dubbo but it would probably take three of them to win, or two winners and a second to catch Steve or get past him," Hurst said.
"It would be nice if we could do it but things are going to have to go right. Even if we don't we've still had a good year at Dubbo, winning lots of races and earning some money for the connections.
"The team at home have been looking after the horses, and all of ours probably go to the races with a chance but I'd say Getaloadaher and Tulhurst Paddy are probably the best of them."
Meanwhile, Saloon Passage will need to be at his best if he is to break through in tomorrow's Group 1 feature at Melton.
The gelding faces star three-year-olds Bling It On and Our Sky Major after finishing out of the placings in a recent semi-final of the series.
"He's going well. We've drawn awkwardly but we'll put him into the race at some stage and see how he goes," Hurst said.
"He hasn't got much experience against the very best so he's always learning and I think he'll be a better horse next season but it's a Group 1 and we're down here to be as competitive as possible."
DHRC Premierships
Pointscores heading into Saturday's meeting
LEADING TRAINER: Steve Turnbull (121), Nathan Hurst (108), Jason Gaffney (85)
LEADING DRIVER: John O’Shea (93), Amanda Turnbull (92), Nathan Hurst (79)
LOCAL TRAINER: Mick Pay (25), Mick Carroll (23), Greg Pay (21)
LOCAL DRIVER: Kurt Lew (38), Nathan Carroll (26), James Sutton (24)
UNDER-23 DRIVER: Mitch Turnbull (36), Nathan Carroll (26), Paul Diebert (18)
HORSE OF THE YEAR: The Kissing Bandit (23), Blacks A Buzzin (18), Janets Ace (18)
2YO/3YO OF THE YEAR: Baked In The City (17), Cankickatarget (15), Jogalong Pom (14)
