81yo Ken Parker drives his first winner since 2008
Kyle posted this in the Odds and Ends but it is too good to get lost there
Nice little yarn out of the Redcliffe meeting this week. From the Courier Mail http://m.couriermail.com.au/sport/su...f4085ec6a17bd2
IT’S not uncommon to get stuck behind senior citizen drivers at Redcliffe.
But at Redcliffe Paceway yesterday, 81-year-old Ken Parker put an entirely new spin on the oft-joked-about stereotype.
Parker steered Colada Rose, a mare he bred, owns and trains, to victory in the fourth race, bringing up her first win in 61 starts.
It was his first win in the seat since April 2008.
“It will take a month to take the smile off my face. I’ll have to have an operation to get rid of it,” Parker said.
“It’s quite a good thrill because she’s been knocking on the door and running seconds and thirds and seconds and thirds, but just couldn’t quite crack the one. But today she cracked it and led all the way.”
Parker first entered harness racing in 1950 but left the sport when he became a family man.
“I gave them away, got married and had a family and had to give horses away for 20 years,” he said.
“When I retired at 65 I went and bought a horse and finished up with about three or four of them.
“That’s what keeps me going, that’s what keeps me alive.
“At 72 I had (heart) bypasses done and got a new lease on life, so I said I’m not going to waste it, I’m going to put it to good bloody use, so I am.
“If I didn’t have a horse I don’t know what I’d do. I’ve only got the one now. I sacked one, it was no good.”
Parker conceded Colada Rose will probably “see me out” but he revels rubbing shoulders with rivals only a fraction of his age.
“People say I don’t look 81 and I say ‘what’s 81 got to look like? Is there some set bloody pattern?’ You know,” he said.
“People guess anywhere between 65-72 and I say ‘I love you.’
“This mare, I bred her. I had her mother. She’s five-years-old and it’s been a while since I’ve had a horse racing before she came along.”
http://www.harness.org.au/meeting-re...ld#REC16101407
