Melbourne owner/breeder John Dorrington is no stranger to the harness racing scene and looks to have a smart customer on his hands in the progressive New Shuffle.
The highly-promising 4Y0 American Ideal-Starburst Girl gelding was bred by Benstud Standardbreds and Bruce and Craig Cameron in the Goulburn Valley.
He coasted to the wire in the $15,000 Logical Staffing Solutions Pace over 1720 metres at Melton last Saturday, March 14.
Trained by the very much underrated Philip Chircop in Ballan, New Shuffle has now won six races from 22 outings, which includes eight placings and over $67,000 in stakes.
John and family relocated from Perth to Victoria to seek treatment for a hearing problem his youngest son Gavin had suffered since birth, and after being a bookmaker in WA, he applied for a licence in Victoria.
He worked at most provincial tracks before being elevated to the Melbourne Showgrounds and Moonee Valley. He also worked at the Saturday Flemington, Caulfield, Sandown and Valley gallops.
But trotting has always been John’s passion, and he has been the owner of horses the calibre of Smokey Quartz (31 wins), Come Cullect (20), Miss Gabriel (6), Joe Lous (9) and Ben Chifley (12) to name just a few.
John hasn’t enjoyed the best of health in recent times, suffering a horrific fall at his house last year that resulted in several broken bones in his back and ribs. This has curtailed his activity in attending meetings.
Hopefully this is the horse John has been waiting for and it appears that he could be a star of the future.
