Wanganui-owned Rangatira capped off a memorable 12 months by being named NZ Racing's Champion Jumper of the Year on Thursday night.
The NZ Racing Horse of the Year awards were announced at a dinner at the Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton and with 30 votes, Rangatira was the clear winner in the jumper category.
Owned by Wanganui businessman Alistair Murdoch and painting contractor Allan Barnes, in 2013 Rangatira seemed destined for retirement after a flat racing career with Chris and Dick Bothwell, until the owners decided to give him a crack over the fences.
They transferred the horse to Steve Gulliver's Stratford stable, with the trainer taking a racing share. Then in September at Ellerslie, Rangatira went on to claim a dramatic Great Northern Steeplechase, when stand-in jockey Issac Lupton took him out to a very surprising 100m lead, which he then held by barely a nose from former Great Northern winner Kidunot.
Being a dashing front runner had Rangatira to the fore again this July when he snatched the Wellington Steeplechase with another exciting all-the-way victory under jockey Cory Perrett.