MORISSET teenager Jack Callaghan has become the youngest ever winner of the Newcastle harness racing drivers' premiership.
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Jack was just 17 when he completed the 2018-19 season on August 31. He turned 18 on Friday.
In his first full season of driving, Jack scored 46 wins at Newcastle, and a further four at Maitland, to also secure the Hunter Valley premiership.
"I was given a lot of good opportunities," Jack said.
"I lot of big owners and trainers put me on, and I can't thank them enough."
Among those trainers was Jack's father, Mark, who won the trainers' premiership at Newcastle for the first time last season.
Callaghan said his son had proved a fast learner.
"You do need opportunities, but you've got to make the most of them, and Jack has been able to do that," he said.
"He has patience, and he's making fewer and fewer mistakes, and that will hold him in good stead."
Jack's commitment to the sport has been wholehearted.
Eighteen months ago, he left Avondale School in year 11 to work fulltime for his father at their Morisset stables, and to pursue his driving career.
His preparation for race meets is thorough.
"I'll spend a couple of hours the night before a race going through the form and watching videos," he said.
"All horses are different, so I like to have a plan to suit each horse, and I like to think that I'm versatile."
But having a Plan A is not enough.
"When you get out on the race track things can change in a split second," he said.
"So I like to have a Plan B and a Plan C, too."
Jack has adopted the laid-back driving posture favoured by American drivers and NSW's leading driver, Todd McCarthy, who has become a mentor for the teenager.
"Todd uses that style and has had a lot of success with it."
Jack said mixing it with experienced drivers who were determined to exert their seniority didn't faze him as much as they might have hoped.
"At the start there was a bit of that," he said. "But I've grown up on the track, and every driver is really just trying to do the same job. We're all pretty good mates, so it's friendly competition."
Among the highlights of the season for Jack was winning his first treble at Newcastle.
"That was something I was pretty proud of," he said.
His biggest audience, however, was at Menangle when he won the feature race on Breeders' Challenge Day.
That was the culmination of a 10-race series for the 10 leading junior drivers, selected from across the state, and known as the Rising Stars.
"Everyone in the industry watches on that day," Callaghan said. "So to win there gave his career a big kick."
