HOWARD'S DREAM: STABLE TO SIREN

Danny O'Brien's racing manager Jack Howard will fulfill a lifelong dream when he marches on to the MCG to umpire his first AFL match on Saturday.

Having first considered a gig as an AFL umpire 18 years ago when he was playing school football for St Bernards but also officiating junior matches to pick up some extra money, Howard has continued umpiring, with O'Brien encouraging him to do so.

On a rare Saturday when he won't have a runner at Flemington, O'Brien will be in the stands for the game between Richmond and Sydney to watch Howard in action, although he may be a little distracted during the last quarter when Politely Dun contests the Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm.

Howard, however, won't know any of the stable's results until he gets his phone back at the end of the day, letting his day job fade into the background when he has to surrender his phone to match-day officials upon arrival at the ground.

Howard is full of praise for the role O'Brien has played in his career in racing and also during his progression to the top level.

"Danny has been amazing for me. I walked into his stables looking for a job having never touched a horse and he's taught me everything. As soon as I finished my teaching degree, Danny gave me the job of being racing manager for him," Howard said.

"We had an honest chat three years ago and Danny said I should set goals for my umpiring career. Without Danny, his wife Nina and also (O'Brien Racing general manager) Matt Harrington I wouldn't be umpiring. They have faith in me that I can do both."

After he finished school, Howard graduated to umpiring in the Essendon and District Football League, before spending a season officiating in the Northern Territory.

"After that I thought I would give umpiring a good crack and that coincided when I came back and started working for Danny, which was around 2017," said Howard, who after umpiring Under-17 VFL games was promoted to the senior list in 2020 and has also umpired the past two VFL Grand Finals.

"I was lucky enough to get an interview with the AFL at the end of last year. It's been a big learning curve since then."

According to Howard, when he is umpiring it gives him a freshen up from horse racing given the two worlds are very separate ones.

"When I go to the races no one cares about my umpiring. Owners want to know how their horses will go and jockeys want to know about their rides and what's coming up," Howard said.

"Then when I go to the footy, you get the odd question about racing, but they want to concentrate on the footy. It's a good mental break from each when I'm at the other."

Howard and RSN form analyst and accomplished AFL umpire Nick Foot are great mates, having studied teaching in some of the same classes and he said Foot has been a great sounding board.

"He has a better understanding of racing than people who aren't involved. He's been great for my umpiring with his tips about what to do. We have a great relationship," he said.

"Hopefully I can have a good day umpiring and we can get a big winner in Queensland and we can have a good celebration that night."

Story by Michael Manly for Racing.com

Pic by Racing Photos