Jones on a winner or two...or 1000

18 May 2023

Narrandera reinsman Blake Jones has been a dominant force in the Riverina for quite some time and in the final race at Wagga on Tuesday night the talented horseman achieved a significant goal in his driving career.

Jones brought up his 1000th winner aboard the Bernie Kelly-trained Waratah Lou.

“It is good to have the monkey off my back now,” Jones quipped.

“Knowing the milestone was not far away was definitely in the back of my mind during the past month.

“I knew I would reach it at some stage, but now that it has finally happened, I can reflect on the achievement and appreciate just how fortunate I have been to make such a success of something that I enjoy doing.”

Jones’ career kicked off in 2008 when he first started driving for his uncle, prominent Riverina trainer David Kennedy, bringing up his first winner at the Wagga Showground track, driving the pacer Toranardo.

After completing his grounding with Kennedy and his grandfather Joe Painting, Blake moved to Sydney to consolidate his professional career, driving with success under the guidance of Trevor Munday.

Thereafter, the then teenager headed to Bathurst to accept a position with Steve and Jenny Turnbull at their Radiant Lodge stables.

Jones’ tenure in Bathurst proved successful and whilst there he also worked for Nathan and Kevin Hurst.

But Blake’s heart was in the Riverina, and he moved back home, once again linking up with David Kennedy.

“The early years of travelling and driving horses was a time that I will never forget,” said Jones.

“I have met some amazing people and horsemen who have become lifelong friends and I have learnt so much about the standardbred from them along the way.”

Currently Jones and his partner Ellen Bartley work together with a large team of pacers at their Narrandera stables with Ellen as the trainer and Jones driving most of them.

“I am a very lucky man to have Ellen running the show. She is the heartbeat of our stables and is such a hard worker who is so diligent with everything she does with the horses.”

Penrith has an eight-race meeting tonight commencing at 6:22pm and fresh from landing a winning treble at Canberra on Sunday night, Will Rixon is the inform driver to follow with seven drives, his best being Il Bandito in race eight.