by Adam Hamilton

It couldn’t be real. Surely it was all just a bad dream.

It was about 3 a.m. Saturday (April 26) morning (U.S. East Coast Time) when premier Australian driver James Herbertson first heard about the passing of champion Down Under driver Greg Sugars last weekend.

First, Herbertson had a phone call from his girlfriend, Ewa Justice, who had read a social media post from Larajay Farms (the stable run by Sugars and wife, Jess Tubbs) saying Greg had passed away.

It still didn’t feel real. Has somebody hacked Larajay’s social media account?

Then came the call. A phone call that will stay with Herbertson forever.

It was Tubbs telling him the unthinkably tragic news. Knowing he should and would want to hear it from her given how close he was to Sugars.

Reality set in.

“I didn’t think Jess would be able to function, but she is just so strong… I still thought, ‘This can’t be happening,’” Herbertson said.

Sugars passed away in his sleep on Friday night (April 25) in Sydney, where he had travelled with three of Larajay’s horses to compete at Menangle on Saturday night.

Herbertson had lost a mate, a mentor, a father-figure, a sounding board, and an idol.

“When I say he was like another parent to me, I mean it,” Herbertson said. “He took me under his wing and made me into the driver I am today. He was one of the very best as a driver, a trainer and a human being.”

Herbertson is staying with fellow Aussie horseman Brad Chisholm during his time in the U.S. Chisholm woke to hear his mate in tears in the early hours of Saturday.

“Like ‘Herbie’ at first, I just couldn’t believe it,” Chisholm said. “I thought it had to be wrong, but then he told me Jess [Tubbs] had called him.

“Like everyone back home, Greg was nothing but amazing to me before I moved to the States. He’s one of those guys everyone looked up to and admired… he always had time for you.”

Chisholm was driving at The Meadowlands that night, desperate to land a winner he could dedicate to Sugars.

“It’s like he was riding on my shoulder,” he said. “I thought I could win with Verity Blue Chip and I’m sure Greg helped us get the job done.”

Chisholm raised his whip skywards as he crossed the line as a tribute.

Just 24 hours earlier, Herbertson had driven his first Meadowlands winner and was wondering why the congratulatory text he most wanted hadn’t arrived after the race.

“I was on the way back to the winner’s circle and thinking about Greg’s winning drive in the States when he was young and wondering whether the photos would be similar,” Herbertson wrote to Melbourne radio SEN Track. “I just hoped [Greg] had seen it.

“I was waiting for a message from him after the race, only to find out a few hours later he was gone. I swear he pushed it over the line for me as the last thing he could for me before he took his last final breath. The worst day of my life has been and gone.

“My idol. My best mate. The man I went to whenever I needed help with my life, racing and everything in between. Gregory, I’ll miss you every day, mate. I hope I make you proud going forward.”

Herbertson and Chisholm are just two of an army of harness folk in the U.S. devastated by Sugars’ passing.

That was Sugars for you. The stunning record he built on the track was at least matched by the impact he had off it.

The way he promoted the game. His love of the horse. His amazing partnership in life and training with Tubbs and fun he used to have on trips away to keep it all real and enjoyable.

He will be missed as much in New Zealand as he will be in Australia.

And those couple of months he had in Sweden in mid-2023 with the great trotter Just Believe won Sugars and Tubbs a legion of Scandinavian fans, many of whom have taken to social media to express their feelings since last weekend.

Drivers in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden will wear black armbands on the day of Sugars’ funeral.

Despite being just 40, Sugars already boasted a Hall of Fame CV with almost 4,100 wins, including 71 at Group 1 level.

He drove so many great horses, but thankfully got to enjoy the highest of the highs with Tubbs and Just Believe.

In the three years or so they trained the gelding, he not only dominated the biggest races in Australia and New Zealand, but also took them on that once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Elitlopp.

Those images of Sugars and Tubbs walking through the pink smoke and being introduced to the packed Solvalla crowd are now immortalized.

They looked like rock stars.

Emotions have overflowed and tributes have come from far and wide in the days since Sugars’ passing.

Luke McCarthy, older brother of Andy and Todd, fought back tears as he recalled “properly” getting to know Greg in 2004 when they shared a room during the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championship in Perth.

“You know those rare people you meet and just instantly click with, that was Greg and I,” Luke said. “We had 10 days together on that trip and left great mates.

“He’s one of the best drivers we’ve seen, beautiful to watch in the sulky, and he drove a few winners for me. I’ll treasure that 2015 [Group 1] Queensland Pacing Championship forever now. He answered a call-up from me to drive Our Hi Jinx and got the cash.”

Australia’s all-time most decorated driver, Chris Alford, said Sugars’ trademark smile and charm won him around after a “rugged” start to their on-track relationship.

“Oh, he was a fierce competitor on the track,” Alford said. “When he first came across, we had a 200-meter tussle for the same spot and I had some choice words to say to him after it, but it wasn’t long before all that was behind us and we became great mates. Still really competitive rivals on the track.

“There’s so many stories to sit back and remember now he’s gone, including the time in outback New Zealand on a trip to a drivers’ series together and ended up crashing a wedding.

“I didn’t know much about him in Adelaide before he came to Melbourne, but you could see as soon as he started driving here that he had ‘it.’ He always looked so effortless in the sulky and horses ran for him.”

For all of Sugars’ talent and early success, it was the union with Tubbs, and the powerhouse they became together, which propelled his career to the next level.

Tubbs has asked for privacy, but shared some of her grief and memories through Instagram.

“I can’t believe you’re gone and that tomorrow I’ll be waking up without you,” she posted last Sunday. “You didn’t deserve this. You loved life and were looking forward to so much. This was meant to be our year of fun and adventures. Time to finally try and enjoy what we have worked so hard for.

“After almost two decades together, a life without you feels impossible right now.”

Then on Monday, as Tubbs walked one of their best pacers, Better Eclipse out for track work, she posted: “On the way to the track this morning, Better Eclipse eased up to a walk then stood at the top of the hill before he strode out onto the main track. He’s never done that before.

“He wore Greg’s favorite bridle and Greg’s sulky, but he knew something was different now, pausing to acknowledge the absence of his friend.

“So lucky to have the horses to focus on while the rest of the world seems too much to handle.”

It’s all so hard to comprehend and just so unfair.

A date has not yet been set for Sugars’ funeral.