eUNSUNG HERO PROFILE...ANTHONY COLLINS..
Today's centre piece is a 19 year old lad from the southern Downs city of Warwick.ANTHONY COLLINS,whose initial interest in light harness stemmed from,would you believe it,watching the trots at country shows,was inducted into the game thanks to Pat O'Shea,the Toowoomba gallops caller.The trail then leads via Lawson Cockburn,to an ad for a mini-trotter in the Gatton Star,to Bev and Bill Mckiernan,and thence to the race track.Success followed,with the high point being victory in the MINI POT OF GOLD at the Rock in1999.
A.C. has ambitions in the race calling sphere,with his career target set in a similar vein to John Tapp.Full time race caller with a hefty stable of standardbreds in the immediate background.To this end he has called many races at the Rock,his style loosely based on Newcastle's Mark McNamara.
90 SECONDS WITH ANTHONY COLLINS.
COLOURS--- Red and Yellow Quarters Black Sleeves.
Fiirst winner driven..BARON VON LASER.(the Rock)
First winner trained and driven ..REGAL DRUM (Gold Coast).
Best horse trained and driven..MYOLA TIARA.
Best horse seen..ATITAGAIN.
Best trainer seen..Julie Weidemann.
Best driver seen..Scott Neaves.
Good mate..Gordon McRae rates way up there.
View of the game.."We publicise the wrong aspects of the game---negatives rather than positives..
Best thing..The level of support given to young trainers and drivers.
There you have ANTHONY COLLINS...He has the ambition and is showing the skills to take him where he wants to go..A.C. is every chance!
Comments
What an accurate description of Anthony's prospects in harness racing - 'has the skills...every chance.' However, I’ll show my faith and say ‘has the skills, will succeed.’
I am consistently impressed with Anthony as a race caller, with his clear descriptions of the action, as well as his tone and pace. I am sure that he has what it takes to make a very successful race caller and look forward to seeing him get the opportunity to develop his skills in this area further.
I am also very pleased to see Anthony’s keen thirst for knowledge in the training arena. Few fellow young people in the Harness Racing industry appear to me to share his dedication to the care and training of horses. I have been pleased to be able to share some of the driving commitments with Anthony of his stable runners in recent times. He has done a super job with some horses that really were classed by many as ‘past their prime’.
Anthony’s horses and harness are always easily picked out of a crowd as some of the most shiny and healthy looking, he is to be commended.
Posted by: Scott Neaves | July 31, 2006 07:59 AM