High five for Tom Ison during memorable meeting at Narrabri Showground

Tom Ison had a day to remember at the Narrabri Showground on Sunday as the Tamworth trainer/driver won five of the six races during Narrabri Harness Racing Club’s second and final meeting of the year, setting two track records, winning two finals and claiming the Narrabri Cup in the process.

The 27-year-old took out the Narrabri Cup for the second year in a row and for the third time since 2020, and he also claimed the Santos Cup for a third year in a row as well as the John and Beryl Dean Memorial for the first time.

The Cup victory in the final race of the day was his 756th career win as a driver and his 258th as a trainer, with 27 driver wins and 26 trainer wins now already secured in 2026 just three-and-a-half months into the year.

Ison had claimed his maiden Narrabri Cup in 2020 with the Roy Roots Jnr-trained Bohannan at the Tamworth Paceway, where that year’s Narrabri Harness Racing Club cup meeting was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he reclaimed it last year when he drove Escalera to victory at the Narrabri Showground to win the race for the first time as a trainer.

Escalera lined up again on Sunday and was driven by Tom’s brother Sam as the 10-year-old gelding looked to defend his title, but it was Tom onboard Arnies Army that got the job done as they raced to their second victory at the venue in as many meetings after taking out the Daisy Water Carrier Peter and Raymond Shepherdson Memorial race on Easter Sunday.

The win was Tom’s fifth of the day after also claiming races two to five as well, a feat he also achieved during the 2020 Narrabri Cup meeting in Tamworth. It also saw him best last year’s impressive effort, which saw him claim four of the seven races during the 2025 Narrabri Cup meet.

Sunday’s raceday at the Narrabri Showground kicked off with the 1760-metre Logan and Co Furniture and Bi Rite pace, which was won by the Jamie Donovan-trained, Tanner Brown-driven Katastrophee. The six-year-old mare beat the Ian Mabbott-trained, Anthony Varga-driven Tasmans Delight by less than four metres as Ison drove Country Major to a second third-place finish in as many meetings at Narrabri Showground.

Ison then celebrated his first win of the day in race two, which was the 1760-metre Shop 2390 and Daisy Water Carrier pace. He drove eight-year-old mare Sparkling Sue to a photo finish victory over the Jamie Donovan-trained Caitlin McElhinney-driven favourite Spooky Art in that race, and the Sam Ison-trained-and-driven Benji Magee ran home third, two-and-a-half metres behind the winner.

The third race of the day was the CL Dickinson Auto Electrics and Cotton Grower Services pace, and Ison drove five-year-old mare Annie Crocker to a memorable victory in that one as the duo matched the track record with a 1:57.3 mile rate. The Dwayne Brown-trained, Tanner Brown-driven Lachies Ideal was not too far behind as he ran home four metres behind the winner, and then a further four metres back was the Anthony Missen-trained, Sarah Rushbrook-driven Gotonebettor rounding out the podium finishes.

The John and Beryl Dean Memorial final was up next, with the fourth race of the day run across 1760 metres as well. Ison was onboard Cinnamon in that race, and the five-year-old mare entered it as the $1.15 favourite after taking out the prelude a week earlier. They made it a Narrabri Showground double as Cinnamon beat the Danny Mackey-trained-and-driven Truthbetold to the line by two-and-a-half metres, with the Anthony Missen-trained, Sarah Rushbrook-driven Try Catching Me then running home third out of eight.

The most prestigious race of the day was up next in race five as 10 qualifiers contested the Santos Cup. Ison drove Otis Rising in that one and they started from pole position wearing the number one. The six-year-old gelding established the early lead in that 2160-metre race, and it was the Jamie Donovan-trained, Caitlin McElhinney-driven Rainbow Jet that kept him honest for most of the way. The Sam Ison-trained-and-driven Cut Glass made his move coming out of the back straight, but it was still Otis Rising in front going into the home straight. Otis Rising eventually won in a photo finish after Cut Glass charged down the inside and nearly got his nose in front, and Rainbow Jet then ran home just behind them in third place.

The Narrabri Cup was the sixth and final race on the card, which Ison took out with Annies Army in a record-breaking time to cap off a memorable meeting in style.

Chris Shepherdson from the Narrabri Harness Racing Club told The Courier it was an enjoyable day with some sensational racing on show.

“It all went off really well. The crowd wasn’t as big as the week before, but we weren’t really expecting that with no public holiday afterwards like last week,” Shepherdson said.

“It was a really good atmosphere there. Both meetings had a really good atmosphere this year.

“We had two track records broken on Sunday. One actually broke it and one equalled it. There was really good racing across the six events.”

Shepherdson also commended Ison’s efforts across the meeting.

“Horses always run for Tom. He’s a good driver and he really gets the best out of his horses,” Shepherdson said.

“He got the luck on the day and he pulled the right reins to win those five races.”

Shepherdson, Narrabri’s only local reinsman in action, had four drives on his home track.

He was onboard the Jamie Donovan-trained Eifell From Heaven in race one and they finished fourth, charging past the finish post 16 metres behind the mare’s stablemate Katastrophee.

His next three drives were all for Narrabri horses that he is an owner of, which included Jeremy Lou in race two, Look At Mee in race three and Im Belieber in the Santos Cup final. Jeremy Lou ran home last in a field of eight, Look At Mee was seventh out of eight, and Im Belieber finished sixth out of 10.