THE Plunkett family has been involved in harness racing in Tasmania for over 90 years so the win by Little Jethro in the E C Plunkett Memorial at New Norfolk On Tuesday was special for many reasons.

Little Jethro powered home to win the race courtesy of a brilliant drive from Ricky Duggan and after the race it was an emotional trainer Rod Plunkett who spoke of the thrill of winning a race named in honour of his late father Ted Plunkett.

"To win this race is an absolute thrill as it is named in honour of Dad who had harness racing in his life from day one and he passed it on to us," Plunkett said.

"To win the race and have Mum here (Jessie) here to see it also was really special," he said.

When asked how long he would be staying in the game Plunkett said: "My grandfather trained a winner here at New Norfolk in 1918 so I would like to stick around until the Australia Day meeting in two years tome so that the family can celebrate 100 years of training pacers and that would be a great way to go out,"

In the meantime Plunkett will be chasing more wins with Little Jethro and his driver believes the gelding has what it takes to achieve that goal.

"This horse did enough to suggest to me there are more wins in him," Duggan said.

"There's not a lot of him but he has a good motor and a desire to win, which is what he showed today," he said.

Peter Staples