Life of Riley

Newly crowned New Zealand Harness Racing Cadet of the Year Riley Black has a deep love for the sport, but he’s also planning to have a trade qualification as a backup plan.

“Mum and Dad encouraged me to get a trade from an early age. At times I thought, ‘do I listen or go to the horses.’ But no, I made the right decision and I’m starting to really enjoy it,” Riley said.

Consequently he’s signed up for an apprenticeship with Invercargill firm Aotea Electrical.

“They’ve been great. I started there in October. The electrical stuff didn’t come easy at the start. I did the pre-trade (course) at SIT at the start of last year. I’m starting to get the hang of it but there’s a lot of learning involved and there are a lot of requirements you have to meet on each and every job. It’s going to be good for me in the long run.”

Black says he hopes to become fully qualified in about three and a half years but has no plans of stepping away from Harness Racing.

Currently holding a trials drivers’ licence, he hopes to progress to get a junior driver’s licence.

“You have to have twenty five drives in trials with three or more horses in them. I’ve had a tally up and I think I need another twelve. If August rolls round and there’s an opportunity with some of Dad’s horses, I could get a good start. It’ll depend on when I’m ready.”

A prerequisite to eligibilty for the National Cadet of the Year final is to win a regional final which Riley accomplished last year.

“That’s pretty much the same every year. You do a timed drive, there’s a quiz about horse feeds, famous drivers, tracks, colours, parts of the horses and gear.”

As Southland representative he went to Christchurch on the 2^nd December for the Nationals.

“I went into the Nationals not knowing what to expect. I started off the day slowly compared to some of the others but as the day went on I became more consistent and got better. The interview I did with Brad Steele I thought I excelled in. There was a part with videos with Shane Renault the stipe and I thought I did very well in that. We had a part that went over driving rules with Roddy Butt which I thought went well.”

The winner was announced at the annual New Zealand Harness Racing Awards on Saturday night.

“I thought I’d be half a chance, but it was still a shock on the night. When they called Nikata Burton’s name out for runner-up, I thought dang how bad did I go. Then Mick Guerin said the Southerners are cleaning up. I was quite surprised and happy. It was a big thrill.”

Riley comes from a family steeped in harness racing history.

His father Alister trains at Branxholme and has geared up 129 winners. He also drove, successfully recording 62 winners.

Both Alister’s grandfathers George Black and Arthur Smaill also trained.

Riley’s mother Sheree is the granddaughter of former Winton trainer Ron Hamilton who trained 61 winners, including Trevira (16) and Trilobal (9). Trevira won the Waikato Flying Mile twice, the Easter Cup, the Ashburton Cup and the Forbury Park Four and Five Year Old Championship. Trilobal’s major win was in the New Brighton Cup.

“We called him (Ron) this morning and he was chuffed. I’ve had lot of congratulations from the whole family and the harness racing community.”

Although his focus is squarely on becoming an electrician, harness racing won’t be far away.

“I’ll spend time with Dad at the weekends helping him with horses and at the races. I’m never going to forget harness. It’s always going to be there in my life but I’m only seventeen and I’ve got my whole life in front of me.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink