While much has been made of the three-way battle for the 2023/24 Tasmanian Trainers' Premiership, a look further down the table paints a positive picture of the training landscape.
The name Brunton has been at the forefront of Tasmanian Premierships for over a decade, but that will change this year. John Blacker (59) holds the lead over Glenn Stevenson (55) and John Keys (53) with three meetings remaining.
Blacker's 717 starters this season is a significant increase on the 581 he had in 2022/23, a result of now having bases at two ends of the state, Longford and Brighton.
"Both bases are going good. It's a lot of work and a lot of thinking, but we've got good staff at Hobart and Brighton, and we're getting results," said Blacker.
Regardless of the Premiership outcome, Glenn Stevenson has already achieved the most season wins he's ever had, and he clearly has the best strike rate of the three trainers in the thick of the title battle.
However, many other trainers have put together career-best seasons outside the leading trio.
Trainer-jockey Siggy Carr's 27 wins are the highest total she's amassed in her five full seasons as a trainer. Her winning strike rate of 17.2% is also a personal best.
Among that total of 27 wins includes the impressive duo Ms Tasmania and Thespian Waters, who will both have lofty targets when they return to the track.
Sitting below Siggy on the Premiership table are Imogen Miller (20 wins) and Rowan Hamer (17 wins), both tallies already higher than any other season they've had as an individual trainer.
In the case of Miller, trainer Lindsay Smith has been quick to attribute his success this season (9 winners from 23 Tasmanian starters) to Miller and her partner Brendon McCoull, who have stabled his horses at their Seven Mile Beach base.
"Imogen and Brendan do a fabulous job looking after the horses and love what they do," said Smith.
Lindsay Smith hasn't been the only trainer looking to venture runners across Bass Strait, with most Tasmanian trainers seemingly embracing the 'tried horse' concept. Overall starters and starters per race are up in 2023/24 on the previous season, aided by the numbers of ex-mainlanders racing on the Apple Isle.
Emerging trainers Sarah Cotton and Jessie Bazan are another pair that have had more winners and starters than ever before this season, with Bazan's speedy 3YO filly Anyways Roxie still holding the Hobart 1000m track record of 59.02 seconds set in November last year.
Overall, there are more than 80 licenced trainers in Tasmania, providing plenty of options for prospective owners as the calendar soon shifts to the 2024/25 racing season.
