After earning his second O’Brien Award of Horsemanship last weekend, Alberta horseman Keith Clark picked up more trophies for his outstanding collection at the annual Alberta Standardbred Horse Association (ASHA) Awards banquet on Saturday at Edmonton’s Northlands Park
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Clark was named Trainer and Driver of the Year once again and tied with horsewoman Connie Kolthammer for Alberta Horsemanship honours. Consistently a dominate force in Western Canada, the Hall of Famer was leading trainer at Alberta Downs, Northlands Park and British Columbia’s Fraser Downs in 2011. His stable banked over $1.2 million in purses and recorded 177 victories -- the most wins in a year for the conditioner since the early 1990s. Clark was also the top reinsman at Alberta Downs and drove 167 winners over the course of the year to more than $1 million in purse earnings. Among Clark’s stable stars were ASHA Award winners Prairie Illusion, Minettas Nightstar, and Western Olympian.
Kolthammer was also named Trainer of the Year for Under 200 Starts while Clark’s brother Bobby took home the Driver of the Year title for Under 200 Starts for the second straight year. Kolthammer and Jim Rogers’ Outlaw Stable also earned Owner of the Year accolades.
Horse of the Year honours went to Western Canada Pacing Derby champion Silver Eagle. The Three-Year-Old Alberta Sired Colt/Gelding divisional winner put together a record reading 14-6-3 in 29 starts during his sophomore campaign while banking over $200,000 for his connections. Some of Silver Eagle’s other victories were in the Adios Pick, Alberta Plainsman, Brad Gunn, and the Red Serge Sales Stakes. The son of Brandons Cowboy and Allamerican Viking was driven by Bill Tainsh Jr. for the majority of his starts and is owned by trainer Lance Ward, Joe Tinelli, and the Shir Win Racing Stable.
Near perfect debut seasons for Blue Star Beauty and Wrangler Betonme, both also driven regularly by Tainsh Jr., earned the youngsters their own ASHA trophies.
Rod Starkewski and Larry Thomas’ All Canadian Mjjz earned his third ASHA trophy as this year’s Champion Aged Horse of the Year. The all-American Native-Sliced Thin gelding won seven races in 33 starts while banking over $50,000 in his four-year-old campaign.
Here is a look at the complete list of the 2011 ASHA Award winners:
Two-Year-Old Filly (sponsored by Tru-West Company LTD)
Prairie Illusion, owned by Keith Clark, Robert Jones, and Doris McDougall
Two-Year-Old Alberta Sired Filly (sponsored by Form Vu Corporation)
Blue Star Beauty, owned by Derek Stout
Two-Year-Old Alberta Sired Colt/Gelding (sponsored by Skywest Farms)
Wrangler Betonme, owned by Dr. Maurice Stewart, Maureen Stewart, Lyle Reid, and Sandy Reid
Three-Year-Old Filly (sponsored by Olds Ag Society)
Shoplifter Hanover, owned by Diane Bertrand
Three-Year-Old Alberta Sired Filly (sponsored by Perky In Pink)
Minettas Nightstar, owned by Keith Clark and John Hind
Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding (sponsored by Joe Tinelli-Mobile Insurance)
Western Olympian, owned by Keith Clark, Robert Jones, and Peter Giannakopoulos
Three-Year-Old Alberta Sired Colt/Gelding (sponsored by Alfa Tec Products)
Silver Eagle, owned by Joe Tinelli, Shir Win Racing Stable, and Lance Ward
Champion Aged Mare (sponsored by Lacombe Fire Dept.)
With Bells On, owned by Bradley Grant
Champion Aged Horse (sponsored by Alberta Downs)
All Canadian Mjjz, owned by Larry Thomas and Rodney Starkewski
Champion Claimer - Mare (sponsored by Schanks Athletic Club)
Baby You Save Me, owned by Andrew Scott
Champion Claimer - Horse (sponsored by Boston Pizza)
Greek Ruler, owned by Joe Ratchford
Groom of the Year(sponsored by Raceway Tack)
Todd Ducharme
Trainer of the Year - Under 200 Starts (sponsored by Gunnholme Farms)
Connie Kolthammer
Driver of the Year - Under 200 Starts (sponsored by Tim Kane, Harvey & Ann Jaegar)
Bobby Clark
Trainer of the Year (sponsored by Univet Pharmaceuticals)
Keith Clark
Driver of the Year (sponsored by Rocky Mountain Turf Club)
Keith Clark
Breeder of the Year (sponsored by Bedrock Training Center)
Meridian Farms
Owner of the Year (sponsored by Standardbred Canada)
Outlaw Stable
Horseman of the Year (sponsored by Northlands Park)
Keith Clark & Connie Kolthammer (tie)
Breeders Award of Recognition (sponsored by ASHA)
William (Bill) Zaretsky
Ron McLeod Award of Achievement (sponsored by ASHA)
Norm Kennedy
Horse of the Year (sponsored by Horse Racing Alberta)
Silver Eagle, owned by Joe Tinelli, Shir Win Racing Stable, and Lance Ward
Keith Clark was in two
Keith Clark was in two provinces to accept awards for top trainer and driver in Alberta.
His horsemanship was recognized here at the O'Brien Awards in Ontario. The next afternoon in Alberta after getting more silverware, he won a race with a good purse.
Which goes to show you, keep at it and the wins lead to more trophies.
An interesting life these chaps have, no?