Noah Coutts stepped up for his mentor as clerk of the course
By Tayler Strong
The 18-year-old Noah Coutts was thinking of his riding companion on the training track, Graeme Mee when he took on the role of clerk of the course at the dual code meeting at Wingatui on Monday. Noah, along with Sally McKay, was substituting for Graeme, who was seriously injured six days earlier. Graeme and his wife, Ann are the usual clerks at Wingatui.  “Graeme showed Noah the ropes about the job six months ago and he has been riding track work with him for some time,’’ said Jason Coutts, father of Noah. Jason has eight horses (two of his own and six in pre-training) in work at Wingatui and he also operates the Grassyards Farm stud, the home of Prince Of Brooklyn. Noah was in his element on Monday riding on the track to oversee the wellbeing of the racing.
“I enjoyed being busy all-day riding,” he said. He is an accomplished horseman in his own right, having traveled the world riding show jumpers. He rode in Russia and Germany in 2018. He also breaks in horses. His mount on Monday was King Pin provided by McKay, an Invercargill trainer and long-time clerk of the course in Otago and Southland. “Noah is ideal for the job (clerk of the course),” said McKay. King Pin is a retired racehorse who won five races when trained by McKay. Now 10, he won at Wingatui in March 2017.