Young gun driving in honour of late mentor Greg Sugars

By Andrew Smith

When James Herbertson takes to the track for Inter Dominion week, he knows he will have some extra help from above in his pursuit of victory.

Australia’s premier harness driver will be out to honour the memory of his late great friend and mentor Greg Sugars every time he hops in the sulky during this week’s busy racing schedule.

The 25-year-old is lining up in the Australasian Young Drivers Championships at Albion Park and Redcliffe as Victoria’s representative.

He will also be out to emulate Sugars and take home an Inter Dominion crown when he takes to the sulky for Saturday night’s Pacing Championship Final.

Sugars and wife Jess Tubbs combined to win the ID23 Trotting Final at The Creek with Just Believe, and finished second in the Pacing Final with Better Eclipse.

The champion horseman’s unexpected passing in April of this year rocked the harness racing community, with Herbertson competing in the USA at the time.

On Saturday night, he will look to follow in the footsteps of the man he described as a father figure, when he drives the Tubbs-trained Rakero Rebel in the $1 million event.

“Losing Greg earlier in the year, it's sort of our way of saying, this one's for him,” Herbertson said.

“We just really want to get one in there for him and she was a mare that he had a lot of success on and a lot of time for.

“Unfortunately, we couldn't get the old horse in Better Eclipse in, he only just missed out.

“But we’re just really glad to get one in the final and hopefully we can have a bit of luck on Saturday.”

Herbertson is well aware of the enormity of the task on hand to take down local champion and the heavily-backed Leap To Fame.

The driver paid tribute to Tubbs for having Rakero Rebel primed to make a charge on the code’s biggest night.

“She comes out of the two on Saturday night, and we got her through (to the final), which was great,” Herbertson said.

“It's credit to Jess - she's had a bit of an interrupted prep and didn't have the right sort of run before she came up here and then tired up a bit when she got up here.

“So it's full credit to her to get her going so well, for me to be able to do something with her to get her into a final.”

Before then, Herbertson is looking to add another achievement to his CV with an Australasian Young Drivers Championships crown.

Staged at Albion Park and Redcliffe, the 41st running of the series has brought together the best under 25-year-old drivers from across Australia and New Zealand.

Both The Creek and The Triangle are hosting a series of 10 races, with the first heats kicking off today before the final heat on Saturday night.

Drivers will accumulate points over a 10-race series, with the driver finishing the series with the most points declared the winner.

The group is also taking part in a range of social and development activities, which included a visit to champion horseman Grant Dixon’s facility at Tamborine on Monday.

Herbertson will be too old to compete in the next AYDC and is keen to make amends after finishing fifth the last time he competed in the series in 2023.

The driver said the benefits of coming up against some of Australasia’s best extended beyond the racetrack.

“The biggest thing is the friendships, I think that you get out of it on a personal level,” Herbertson said.

“From a racing level, you're driving for trainers that you never drive for if you're from interstate and you build connections with them.

“I know myself when it's come to them trainers coming to Victoria, I was then an option for them after we’d had a bit of luck on a junior driver trip before, so it creates opportunities going forward for sure.

“It’s a pretty good crew – Jett Turnbull’s done a great job in his short career, Sam Thornley has already won one and Emily Suvaljko is one of the leading drivers in Perth, so there's plenty of depth across the board.”

Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia all have one driver each.

New Zealand will be represented by four drivers, including reigning champion Sam Thornley who steered top Kiwi pacer Tact McLeod to victory in the final heat of the championships at Menangle in December.

“Last year all my drives were sort of near enough chances, but I needed luck,” Thornley said.

“And then on the last night, I had Tact McLeod, which was pretty much a certainty, so it would have been a bad drive if that one got beat.

“It sort of all just worked out – I got the points during the heats for places, picked up a couple wins which I didn't really expect, but it was really good.

“New Zealand racing's a lot different because we have a lot more horses in the field with bigger distances.

"Here they are shorter races, and they go the whole way, so you've got to be handy, and got to have the right horse as well.”

Local young gun Chloe Butler is flying the flag for the Sunshine State in this year’s AYDC.

The rising star is fresh off the back of claiming the 2025 Queensland Young Drivers Championship earlier this year, but still admitted to being surprised by the call-up.

“It's really exciting. I was a bit shocked that I actually was chosen to be in it,” Butler said.

“I've had in the right season so far but there's also a lot of good juniors out there up here at the moment, so it was very special to get chosen for such a competitive series.

“You take away a lot of friendships from it - they're not people that you hang around or hang out with every day, and we've met a heap of new people.”

The tenth and final heat of this year’s AYDC will kick off a huge night of racing at Albion Park on Saturday.

The Queensland Constellations will wrap up with more than $2 million in stakes and five unforgettable Group 1 races.

Along with the Inter Dominion Finals, Group 1 events the Queensland Oaks, Queensland Derby and Golden Girl will all be run at The Creek.