Gold Coast star Shoot Out has been named Queensland Horse of the Year for the second time.
Trainers Brian Mayfield-Smith and Rob Heathcote and jockey Chris Munce were the other big winners at Racing Queensland’s annual awards presentation on Saturday night.
Mayfield-Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame while premiership winners Heathcote and Munce were also named trainer and jockey of the year.
Shoot Out won last year’s award following two Group One wins in the Randwick Guineas and Australian Derby at Randwick.
The John Wallace-trained gelding made it successive titles when he fought off challenges from Buffering and Epsom Handicap winner Captain Sonador.
Although he didn’t win a Group One race during the 2010-11 season, Shoot Out was honoured for his strong performances during last year’s Melbourne spring carnival.
After claiming the Group Two Liston Stakes at Caulfield in August, Shoot Out finished third to So You Think in the Group three Memsie Stakes and third to Whobegotyou in the Group Two Dato Chin Nam Stakes.
He then finished third to Zipping in the Group One Turnbull Stakes before two game fourths behind So You Think in the Group One Cox Plate and Group One McKinnon Stakes.
Mayfield-Smith was inducted into the Hall Of Fame for his long and distinguished career during which he rose from an unknown in Townsville to become one of the country’s top trainers in Sydney and Melbourne.
Heathcote outpointed Toowoomba’s Norm Hilton and Roger Milne to win the trainers’ award after winning the Brisbane premiership for a third successive year.
Chris Munce won the jockey of the year award from Shane Scriven and Stradbroke Handicap winning jockey Jason Taylor.
Munce claimed Brisbane’s riding honours last season for a fourth time with 79-1/2 wins.
The Ken Russell Queensland Apprentice of the Year award went to Justin Wood who also won the metropolitan apprentices’ premiership.
The Heathcote-trained Group winner Buffering was named champion three-year-old, Playtime took the two-year-old title and Shoot Out the best older horse.
Gold Coast rider Daniel Griffin was named the South East Queensland provincial jockey of the year while Brad Wallace, son of Shoot Out’s trainer John Wallace, was the apprentices’ winner.
AAP TURF
