By Adam Hamilton
Greg Sugars will be honoured in a variety of ways, including a race named in his honour, at Melton in Victoria on Saturday night.
Sugars’ wife, Jess Tubbs, trains three of the nine runners in the Vale Greg Sugars Free-For-All (Race 5).
Australia’s premier driver, James Herbertson, has jetted back from a working holiday in the US and will drive favourite, Rocknroll Hammer, in the race.
Trailblazing female Kerryn Manning will drive veteran former Kiwi pacer Triple Eight for Tubbs, while Craig Demmler will be aboard former Auckland Cup winner Better Eclipse.
Drivers will compete in black armbands at the meeting.
Between races four and five, a tribute ceremony will be held at Melton.
There will also be a pause in the Menangle meeting in Sydney so that ceremony can be simulcast on that track’s big screen.
The ceremony will see Greg’s colours and other items of significance placed on a shrine at the winning post. All participating drivers will form a guard of honour around it.
Sugars, 40, died in his sleep last Sunday while in Sydney campaigning horses.
The harness racing world has been rocked and in mourning since.
Tributes have poured in from all around the world, including Sweden where Sugars raced Just Believe in 2023, and the US.
He was almost as well loved and admired in NZ as in Australia, given his many friends and great racetrack success.
Herbertson said he “wasn’t in the right headspace” to stay in the US.
“I needed to get back home and support Jess (Tubbs),” he said. “I’m not sure how long I’m back for, I’ll play it by ear.”
Herbertson, like so many others, is awaiting details of Sugars’ funeral and memorial service, which will be held at Melton on a non-raceday.
Tubbs said a date has yet to be finalised for the funeral.
Sugars had a Hall of Fame record with over 4000 wins, including 71 at Group 1 level.
