400 Wins for Busselton Trainer, Barry Howlett
One of Howletts runners, Fanci A Dance. Photo Credit: Hamilton Content Creators.
It’s only been in the last five to six years that Barry Howlett has expanded his team from the small hobby sized stable he originated from, but on Monday, the successful trainer claimed his 400th winner with his newcomer Mighty Bow River NZ saluting at Pinjarra after an impressive trial just 10 days earlier.
Howlett found himself interested in Harness racing as a 16-year-old boy when he started helping out Busselton trainer John Marsden who lived close to Howlett’s family home, with his interest sparking from his father who always had a liking for horses.
First gaining his licence in the 1991/1992 season, Howlett maintained a small team of horses over the years, but during the 2016/2017 season ramped up his breeding as well as purchasing more horses along the way, gradually expanding his race team to around 30 horses in work. With an immense amount of success over the years, the 66-year-old has won 10 group races, including four Group 1 races.
“The highlight would probably have to be winning the Derby with Three Blind Mice NZ and Jack Mac winning all those two-year-old race: The Pearl and the Slipper,”
“We also had the trotter, Sunnys Little Whiz NZ, she won the trotting cup. We never had anything to do with trotters and to get her to go the way she did, it was a pretty big highlight.”
- $200,000 2014 Sky Racing WA Derby with Three Blind Mice NZ
- $50,000 2016 Trotters Cup with Sunnys Little Whiz NZ
- $100,000 2017 Pearl Classic with Jack Mac NZ
- $125,000 2017 Golden Slipper with Jack Mac NZ
Howlett is no stranger to a good horse, but the Busselton trainer is pretty confident he has found another nice one in his horse Mighty Bow River NZ, who won first up for the stable this week and believes the four-year-old could go a fair way.
“We’ve got a couple of young trotters, but there’s no young racing here so we’re just leaving them, but I have a filly and a gelding that look like pretty smart young horses from what they’ve shown on our track,”
“Sugar Street which will hopefully be heading for the Nugget and Jackpot Joe, he will be a really nice horse when he gets back, he’s got a lot of ability.”
Whilst Howlett appears to be on the up with plenty of nice horses coming through his stable, he has alluded to the fact he will be looking to downsize in the near future.
“We are still breeding a lot, but we are going to start winding down,”
“So, we will cut back quite drastically over the next year or so.”
Top earner, Jack Mac NZ was due to make his return to racing a few months ago, however due to a kick to the leg from a stable mate, he sustained some damage to his suspensory and was sent back to the paddock for another six to eight months rehabilitation.
Ashleigh Paikos