Nathan Jack urges Trebla Trebla to victory, the star young reinsman's 100th of the season
Few Victorian drivers were as disappointed when last year's Equine Influenza crisis hit as star young Shepparton reinsman Nathan Jack.
With a week to go in the 2006/07 season, then 21-year-old Jack was just five winners shy of posting his maiden 100-win season.
While he didn't have a book of drives confirmed that had him convinced he would have topped the ton, he was desperate to do everything in his power to achieve the feat. But the cancellation of meetings until the first week in September put paid to those aspirations.
You can therefore understand his excitement at bringing up his maiden century of winners at Moonee Valley last Friday night, which he did with the win of Trebla Trebla.
While it was only his 98th Victorian winner of 2007/08, victories at Launceston and Harold Park earlier in the season lifted him into triple figures and the 22-year-old couldn't be more satisfied.
"It was something I worked hard towards last year but just missed out, so I've worked even harder this year and been lucky enough to get it up reasonably early in the season," Jack said.
Jack followed up Friday night's win with victory aboard Rojen Cruz at the Robinvale Cup meeting at Nyah on Sunday.
Fittingly, he brought up his 100th Victorian winner of the season at his home track on Tuesday night when he teamed with the Steven Duffy-trained Village Warrior to win the fifth race on the card.
Cracking the ton is just the latest highlight in what has been a season full of accolades for Jack, who won last year's Victorian concession drivers' title. Along with representing Victoria in the Australasian Young Driving Championship, he has won several feature events with Reba Rajah.
Maryborough Cup success was followed by victory in a heat of the Watpac Inter Dominion, the Easter Cup at Launceston and finally the Group 2 Mildura Cup aboard the Crystal Peacock-trained warhorse.
Jack's tally has him in fifth spot on the Victorian drivers' premiership. The tearaway leader is Daryl Douglas (263 wins) ahead of Gavin Lang (128), Kerryn Manning (112) and Chris Alford (110).