THE 2023 Irish harness racing leading driver title will go right down to the wire.

The championship will be decided at tomorrow’s final meeting of the season. Belfast man Jonny Cowden has, by hook or by crook, managed to sit one ahead of his mentor and rival John Richardson after seven months of hard-fought action.

Even though Jonny holds the initiative going into the meeting, John should be favourite.

The scion of the well-known Richardson family will have a clear run tomorrow as Jonny is on international duty, representing Ireland in the European Apprentice Championships in Malta.

An anomaly in the European Trotting Union rules means that drivers can remain an apprentice until the ripe old age of 25, which means that Cowden and his competitors actually have plenty of experience.

For the record, Jonny Cowden leads John Richardson by 24 wins to 23 this morning. However, if the 20-time (probably more, the old records are sketchy) champion were to win one race in Armagh, The Irish Field silver salver goes back to Jaqueline Richardson’s sideboard as John is well ahead in terms of second-place finishes.

Great credit

It is a shame that there must be a loser. If Jonny comes second, he still deserves great credit as a 23-year-old who won with outside drives (known as ‘catch drives’ in harness racing), and by keeping his father Noel’s trotters and pacers fresh right into the autumn. Jonny also works full-time in the Stuart Crawford National Hunt yard.

Should John win the title, it is yet another achievement for the 57-year-old father of three grown-up girls. John was reared at his late father, Hughie’s Portmarnock Raceway. He was comfortable racing there; his entries were always badly needed. In his early career he did not travel much. He has long been an established force, few would argue that as a driver he sits alongside the UK drivers Pimlott, Lord and the young Haythornthwaites as a master of his craft.

Jonny Cowden is still improving and given a bit of luck he will be around for years to come.

Knocking on the door

Jonny’s only winner on the day, Daisy Camden, has been knocking at the door all season and finally got her head in front in the opening Grade G pace.

The East Down region is better known as the home of Tyrella point-to-point, and Ballykinlar man Darren Smith trains the well-bred mare between a field at home and the beautiful beach below Corbett’s land.

“This is only my second season on the IHRA circuit,” said a delighted Donal, “It’s nice to break her duck.”

The race was just a two-horse affair but the time of 2.03.7 is respectable and the runner-up EJ’s Dragoness is genuine.

Cowden went on to be runner-up twice on the card, just like the previous week where Richardson had a bout of ‘seconditis’. The hard pulling Emil Paco had no answer to the finishing kick of ‘the wee mare from Ballyclare’, Andy McTaggart’s Feugeres Erem.

Usual driver Sean Kane was behind the pony-sized mare, and he produced her on the line for their fourth win of 2023. The race was a free-for-all trot for Grade A and B horses.

JR pulled one back on the young pretender when the likeable Good Wine du Layon, led out and made all in the C to D trot. Horses don’t always follow the plan and the nicely-gaited chesnut could only manage a couple of placed finishes the previous weekend when his Welsh owner Allan Davies was over to spectate. Jonny Cowden ran second with Celui de Laye.

Gamble landed

A minor gamble was landed in the opening Grade E and F trot. Coraile de Bellande was bought for reputedly humble money out of the Duggan yard during the week. He has speed but has a habit of galloping in the early stages of a race.

The new owners took a chance, and he was well backed at 5/2 and 3/1. True-to-form he did skip leaving the car but did not gallop the limit of 15 strides.

Allan Wallace jnr doesn’t do ‘panic’ and he cleverly let the old warrior find his rhythm, although the pair were still a huge price with a lap to go. The IHRA Facebook page shows top quality replays by camera man Peter O’Doherty. Readers can watch ‘Race one 22nd October’ to see one of the best drives of 2023. At the six- furlong point the winner is not even ‘in shot’.

The win roughly coincided with the second anniversary of Allan’s grandfather, Liam ‘The Governor’ Wallace. At the great trotting track in the sky, so often mentioned in this column, The Governor will be telling all his cronies,’”I knew there was a race in that old horse.”

Bingo de Connee and former champion apprentice Calvin Broughan were just touched off.

Husband and wife team of Ronan Norton and Rachael Stewart normally put the latter up on Iron Paddy. For some reason, Ronan was in the bike and won the E and D trot. Immaculata usually beat Iron Paddy when they met as three-year-olds. These days the Longford runner has her measure.

John Richardson did the steering on the stylish but moody mare, who trotted level for second place.

The Randalstown yard of Jim and Dan McAteer have had a quiet year by their own high standards. The pacer Louis Vuitton (4/1) turned their luck at this penultimate meeting. The son of Sweet Lou was in good yards such as Laidler and Hurley previously but obviously the Co Antrim air is agreeing with the four-year-old.

“Dan bought him as he met the owners coming through the airport,” stated the driver’s father Jim.

The mortar will feel lighter in the McAteer’s plastering business following an impressive win over the 4/5 favourite Alexander Camden (Wattie Stewart).

Better luck

The Stewart contingent had better luck in the top-class pace when Letsgettoit took the spoils with Jimmy Stewart in the sulky. The Art Professor mare raced prominently and had enough up her sleeve to hold off the back markers The Lion King (Ricky Hanson) and Cash All (John Richardson). Cash All met a lot of traffic or would have been closer.

The winner went 2.01.7, a nice clock for an autumn day. “This mare has kept improving since I took my father off her,” joked Jimmy Stewart. In reality, his father Walter is some teacher around a pacer.

The closing meeting of 2023 is tomorrow at Annaghmore Raceway, eight miles West of Richhill, or off Junction 13 M1.

Daisy Camden got her turn last week, if there’s any justice in the world Let There Be Rock and The Lion King will win at the fixture. The meeting might start early due to the clocks changing.

Full details at: www.irishharnessracing.com

National Leading Driver

Driver Wins

Jonny Cowden, Glengormley 24

John Richardson, Ballyboughal 23

Patrick Kane junior, Trim 14

Troy McAleer, St Margarets 14

Billy Roche, Cloghran 14

Donal Murphy, Baltimore 14

Oisin Quill, Kenmare 14

Sean Kane, The Naul 12

OUR thoughts and prayers are with Dublin born trainer and driver ‘Irish Joe’ Hanney who is recovering in New Jersey following a head injury sustained while working with a yearling last week.

The harness racing community has rallied round to raise money to send his mother to the USA.