Memories of the late great Vin Knight came flooding back at Wagga last Friday.
When 16-year-old Jack Barton snared the first driving win of his career aboard Smack Bang Bart in a heat of the rich Nutrien Sales series, his father Gary Barton said it reminded him of the buzz he got as a young fella watching his family’s star pacer of the late 1980s, Another Bart.
Vin Knight drove Another Bart through much of a stellar three-year-old season, which netted him Group 1 wins in the Victoria, WA and Australian Derbys.
He returned to Gary Barton’s care as trainer the next season with another legend in the sulky, Gavin Lang, to win the Group Australian Pacing Championship.
“Those were great days. I learnt so much from Vinnie, but I wanted to take him back and train him myself after his three-year-old season. I don’t think Vinnie was happy when we nabbed him (on Our Maestro) in the last stride to win that APC,” Barton said.
“We beat some great horses that day, not just Our Maestro, but Village Kid, Thorate, Quite Famous and others.
“I went everywhere with the horse, his big wins in WA, Tassie, you name it.”
Another Bart, raced by Gary and his father, Tom, won 27 races, including five at Group 1 level, and banked a then thumping $588,225.
In the decades since, Gary Barton has run the successful Barton Waste Management business from Allansford near Warrnambool, but always maintained an interest in harness racing.
Jack’s love for the sport has seen the family get really serious again about harness racing.
“He absolutely loves the industry. He’s mad about it,” Barton said. “If you look at him, he’s got it, too. He’s a natural in the sulky.
“We’ve got 10-15 horses here (Allansford, near Warrnambool) and I went to the sales (earlier this year) and bought another five or six well-bred yearlings, too.”
Barton described Smack Bang Bart’s win Wagga win as “landing the trifecta” for the family.
“It was Jack’s first win at just his third drive and Courney’s (Gary’s wife) first training win, too. Throw in Smack Bang Bang’s first win at his first start and the race had it all,” he said.
Barton hopes Smack Bang Bart could be the family’s “next Another Bart.”
“Wouldn’t that be special. I’ve said to Jack you just need one really good horse to change everything,” he said.
“Another Bart took me everywhere, taught me so much and helped me meet so many people who have become lifelong friends.
“This horse has that sort of potential, we’ve seen it since day one. Nothing gets near him at home.
“I know the win surprised a lot of people at Wagga, but not us. He’s a proper horse, this one with strength and plenty of speed.
“He’s got a great chance again in the final now he’s drawn so well now he comes into (barrier) two.”
Given the $200,000 purse and status of the race, the inexperienced Jack Barton will have to watch from the sidelines in the final.
“He’s disappointed, but I understand why they want experienced drivers in these big races, so we’ve put Jason Lee on. He’s driven the horse at the trials and was one of the first to tell us we had a serious horse,” Gary Barton said.
“I know he’s been short-listed for the ($500,000, Group 1) Protostar in Queensland after this as well. We’ll look seriously at it, if things go well this weekend.”
PHOTOS: Cheryl Hancock
