Ryan Sanderson looks to keep dream season rolling with Bay Of Biscay
But the young driver knows he has big shoes to fill taking over the mount this week from Cam Hart.
by Adam Hamilton
It is not often you get to step into the shoes of your idol.
But that’s exactly what top young Victorian driver Ryan Sanderson will do this weekend.
The 22-year-old Sanderson was just in his mid-teens when he first met Cam Hart, then still a teenager himself.
Hart, who grew up in the NSW Riverina town of Junee, moved to the big smoke to try his luck and landed a job with Sanderson’s father, Shane Sanderson, who was then training a team out of the fantastic on-course Menangle complex.
Fast forward about seven years and a then untapped but ambitious Hart has now become one of Australasia’s best drivers.
Hart, 26, boasts almost 1,400 wins, including 16 at Group 1 level.
But it’s the quality of those major wins and the horses Hart has driven which has quickly built his brand.
Champion stayer Swayzee has been his megastar. Hart has driven him to win iconic races like the New Zealand Cup (twice), Hunter Cup, Victoria Cup, and Blacks A Fake.
More recently, Hart became the regular driver for the regally bred and exciting young star Bay Of Biscay.
They first created a splash winning Australia’s premier 4-year-old race, the Group 1 Chariots Of Fire, at Menangle back in March.
Hart trumped that when he returned to Menangle with Bay Of Biscay early last month to win the richest harness race in the world, the $2.1million TAB Eureka.
The pair have just clicked. Hart’s 11 drives on the 4-year-old have returned five wins, three seconds, a third, and a fourth. He’s won three of his past four drives on him.
But the partnership was never set in concrete.
It couldn’t be because of the inevitability that Bay Of Biscay would surge to an open-class feature race and clash with Swayzee.
As much as Hart loves Bay Of Biscay, Swayzee is like family.
That moment was to come with Bay Of Biscay and Swayzee both headed to next Saturday’s $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton.
Bay Of Biscay will cap his preparation for the Cup in Saturday (Oct. 11) night’s Smoken Up Sprint at Melton.
With Hart having a strong book of drives at Menangle on the same night, the time came for Bay Of Biscay’s connections to pick a new driver.
Ryan Sanderson is that man.
It’s fitting recognition and responsibility for what’s been a breakthrough season for the young fella from Murchison in central Victoria.
Although Ryan has driven over 100 winners three seasons, he’s on target to smash that in 2025 with a stunning winning strike rate of 19 per cent, compared to 14 per cent across his career.
And the quality of horses Ryan has driven and his wins has gone to another level.
Much of that is due to the relatively recent support from Bay Of Biscay’s trainers, the powerhouse combination of Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin.
“The opportunities they’ve given me have been amazing,” he said. “It’s what every driver strives for and I’m pinching myself a bit that it’s happening.”
Ryan was expected to keep the drive on Bay Of Biscay in the $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup on Oct. 18. But all that changed with the surprise scratching of Swayzee from the Cup late this week with a health setback, which cleared Hart to resume his association with Bay Of Biscay in the Cup. There’s a great chance that Stewart and Tonkin will have multiple Victoria Cup runners and snap up Ryan for one of them.
“I’ve got my fingers crossed,” Ryan said. “I thought getting a drive in the TAB Eureka was amazing [with Fox Dan for Stewart and Tonkin] and running second made it an incredible night, but the history of the Victoria and Hunter Cups are what you grow up hearing about and watching replays of,” he said. “The Victoria Cup is always talked about and has been won by some of the greatest horses in the game.”
For all of Ryan’s success, his biggest win so far has been the $60,000 Mildura Cup at Group 3 level in regional Victoria.
Although he cites a heat of the 2024 NSW Inter Dominion series as the most special.
“Well, I have it on par with that second in the TAB Eureka now,” he said. “I won that heat on Dangerous, our family horse trained by dad.”
Handing Bay Of Biscay’s reins back to Hart for the Victoria Cup is easier given their mutual respect.
“I’ve looked up to Cam ever since he first came and worked for dad [at Menangle],” Ryan said. “He’s a terrific guy and someone I’ve always looked up to as inspiration, a role model if you like.
“It’s been great watching Cam go on and do things he’s done, winning all those big races and driving some great horses. He’s already pretty much done it all.
“If I could get anywhere near his level I’d be thrilled.”
Ryan is no stranger to Bay Of Biscay.
“I did drive him to win a trial a few months back [on June 10] when he was preparing for a big race in Queensland [the Group 1 Rising Sun], which he didn’t end up going to because they couldn’t get a suitable flight. I knew I was just warming the seat, though,” Ryan said. “He’s a lovely, big strong horse with speed, strength and class.
“He’s got his work cut out against Leap To Fame this week, especially from their barriers [Leap To Fame has 6 and Bay Of Biscay 7], but it’s more about getting a good run into him before the Victoria Cup the week after.”
In another twist, Ryan and Bay Of Biscay will be against the family horse, Dangerous, in this week’s race.
Ryan’s sister, Abby, who has driven 86 winners, now drives Dangerous at the races.
“Abby’s doing a great job,” Ryan said. “She’s just started full-time work in real estate, but she still helps out at home with the horses every chance she gets.
“We usually work between 10-15 horses at home, but the other side of the business is pre-training thoroughbreds.
“We moved from Charlton into this Murchison place about 10 months ago. We’ve got a really good farm set-up, with a water-walker and everything else, as part of Willowood Racing. Paul and Danny Lowry are the main people behind it.
“It’ll be a big night for mum [Naomi] and dad [Shane] with us both in the race.”
