Nineteen years ago, young reinsman Wes Andrews spent six months in hospital recovering from serious spinal injuries and with fears that he would be unable to walk again.
The now 46-year-old Andrews had a spring in his step after the final event at Gloucester Park on Friday night when his seven-year-old pacer The Beach Master won the $21,000 West Sport Show Pace over 1730m.
The Beach Master, a gift horse, was the first runner prepared by Andrews to race at Gloucester Park since September 16, 2011, when ace reinsman Gary Hall jnr drove seven-year-old mare Tell Or Die, a $5.80 chance, to an all-the-way win over Elena S in a 1700m event.
Hall was in the sulky on Friday night when The Beach Master, the $4 second favourite, overcame an awkward draw at barrier No. 6 to finish determinedly to beat the $2.80 favourite Madam Maggie by a length at a 1.56.5 rate. This gave Andrews an unusual record of consecutive Gloucester Park winners just over 14 years apart.
It was at Gloucester Park in May 2007 that Andrews was injured when the horse he was driving broke a head check at release point and fell, sending Andrews flying through the air to land on his head. He fractured the C7 vertebra in his neck and remained in hospital for just under six months.
It is testament to his courage and resilience that he fought back to resume driving in 2008 when he was encouraged by champion trainer Gary Hall snr to tackle a comeback by offering him a job to drive trackwork.
Andrews leapt at this opportunity, and he repaid Hall for his gesture by driving the Hall-trained pacer Urjokin to victories in successive weeks at Gloucester Park in August 2008, with the horse overcoming the No. 9 barrier to score at $29.60 and then beginning out wide again, at barrier eight the following week and winning as a $14.50 chance.
In recent years Andrews has confined his driving to country tracks, mainly in Albany, and he enjoys a proud record of 191 victories, with 152 of them coming after his terrible accident.
He is the ranger for the Shire of Cranbrook and has stables in Mount Barker. “I’m having a holiday now, and that’s why I have brought The Beach Master to race in the city,” said Andrews.
“The Beach Master should be improved by his run tonight, and I’ll be nominating him to race again at Gloucester Park next Friday night. Before that, I’ll be taking him to the beach, and that will be his first experience in the ocean.”
The Beach Master is by American sire Sunshine Beach and is out of unraced mare Call Me Kinky, whose elder full-brother Nomore Forusir was a consistent performer for trainer-reinsman Colin Brown, racing 96 times between 2005 and 2010 for 26 wins, 20 placings and $198,663.
Max Liddelow purchased The Beach Master for $9000 at the 2020 Perth APG yearling sale, and when he and his wife Jan decided to end their involvement in harness racing, they gave the pacer to Andrews as a gift in gratitude for his efforts in driving their pacer The Chaff Bandit.
It was in 2022 that the Liddelows gave Andrews a pacer named Lucky Sensation, and Andrews was delighted when he drove the gelding to an impressive win in a trial in Albany. But Lucky Sensation broke down and was retired without having a start for Andrews.
Jan Liddelow trained The Beach Master when he had three starts as a two-year-old for one placing in 2021 before he damaged a tendon and was off the scene for 30 months, and it was during that period that Andrews was given the gelding as a gift.
Finally, The Beach Master resumed racing in Albany on December 15, 2023, when Andrews drove him for a smart all-the-way win, and now the gelding has raced 38 times for his new owner for eight wins, nine placings and $65,103 in prizemoney.
On Friday night The Beach Master was trapped four wide in the early stages before Hall cleverly manouvred him into the favourable one-out and two-back position, with Master Remi ($7) setting the pace from Madam Maggie in the breeze.
Chris Lewis sent Madam Maggie to a narrow lead 550m from home before The Beach Master got on terms with the mare 200m later and then fought on determinedly to get to the front 50m from the post and pull away to win by a length.
