‘Brownlow’ for Jodi

JODI Quinlan has won Australia’s most prestigious harness racing award, the Vin Knight Medal.
Announced at a gala function at the Crown Palladium last Wednesday night (6 September), the Vin Knight Medal is judged along the lines of the Brownlow Medal. Votes are cast by a panel on performances at the feature race meeting of the week.
The results are kept secret for the last few months of the season, and the votes counted at the function.
Jodi has enjoyed a most successful season. She polled 87 votes to beat reigning medallist Chris Alford and master reinsman Gavin Lang, who won the 2003 and 2004 medals.
The Gippslandraised horsewoman was inducted into the Baw Baw Shire Sporting Hall of Fame this year, and has also won a Pearl Kelly Award, driven a Miracle Mile winner, and has had many other achievements in a driving career of only 14 years.
The Vin Knight Medal is named in honour of one of the greatest harness racing personalities seen, who died in tragic circumstances in 1991, when he was Australia’s leading driver.
Gippsland horsemen Michael Hughes and Shane McGuinness were also nominated for supporting awards at the function last week. Although unsuccessful in the awards, the young horsemen have enjoyed great success during the year.
Shane was leading Junior Driver at Cranbourne for the racing season just finished, while his father’s horse Dancing Withalbert won the Horse of the Year title at that track.
Dancing Withalbert is owned by Drouin couple Ken and Vera Miller, and won seven races from only 11 starts last racing season.