By John Dunne
A trip to the US in 2002 set Greg Sugars along the pathway to a stellar career in the sulky.
The 40-year-old Sugars joined elite company when he steered the mare Festinalente to victory at Bendigo last week for his 4000th Australian winner.
Sugars now sits comfortably alongside Chris Alford, the late Gavin Lang, Kerryn Manning and John Caldow to have surpassed the milestone figure in his adopted state.
“I was 18 when I went and spent six months in America. I saw how professional it was over there, and it taught me how I had to be to make it in the sport here in Australia,” Sugars said.
On returning home to his native South Australia, Sugars immediately packed his bags and headed across the border to Victoria and was duly followed by his father Ross, a leading trainer in Adelaide at the time.
Ross’ vision of relocating in order to provide Greg and his sister Kylie with greater opportunities has duly been vindicated.
“Dad brought around 22 horses with him which helped, and I was starting to get support from Victorian trainers,” he said.
“And I arrived in Victoria towards the end of the season, which helped as a lot of the juniors had outdriven their claim for the season. I picked up a lot of their drives.”
Sugars, a Myrniong resident, cites another ex-South Australian, Geoff Webster, as one who provided his burgeoning career in the sulky with a boost.
“Geoff had a nice team of horses, and he took a step aside from driving and started to put me on, which gave me a kick-along,” he said.
Indirectly, it was the relationship with Webster which paved the way for Sugars to team up with outstanding pacer Sushi Sushi, who provided him with wins in the Victoria Derby, Breeders Crown Final and Great Northern Derby in New Zealand.
“Driving Geoff’s horses and his relationship with the Taiba family probably got me the drive on Sushi Sushi, which helped elevate my profile significantly,” he said.
A third-generation participant behind his father and grandfather Len, Sugars concedes he was destined for a lifetime in the sport.
“I got my licence as soon as I could at 16 and was never going to do anything else,” he said.
Sugars acknowledges the formative years honing his craft were largely based on Gavin Lang.
“Along with Dad, Gavin was a massive influence on my career,” he said.
“He was the best driver I’ve seen. I learned so much from talking to Gavin, both at the races and even socially.”
With more than 60 Group 1 wins beside his name, Sugars admits he has enjoyed his share of celebratory moments in his chosen profession.
“The unbelievable ride with Just Believe and his Inter Dominion wins have been a highlight, along with Sushi Sushi’s win in the Great Northern Derby and Better Eclipse’s win in the Chariots Of Fire,” he said.
Despite his many feature race successes, Sugars still has some unfinished business behind the reins.
“I am going to keep chipping away as there are a few races I am yet to win such as the Hunter Cup and the Victoria Cup,” he said.
