Given the excitement around the Melbourne Cup you could have been forgiven for not noticing another woman, Kerryn Manning, creating her own history. She became the first woman to win New Zealand harness racing’s premier cup, the New Zealand Trotting Cup (group 1) in Christchurch. Ms Manning hails from Great Western in my electorate, where the welcome sign on the border of the town declares it ‘the hometown of Kerryn Manning, world champion harness racing driver’.
Kerryn has driven more than 3500 winners and has a habit of making history. This recent win is particularly special, given that not only did she drive Arden Rooney to victory but she also trained the horse and became the first Australian to train the winner of this race since 1987. Congratulations to all involved on securing these significant and important wins.