By Duane Ranger (courtesy of Redcliffe Paceway)
Mount Hallen reinsman, Nathan Rothwell, said he had never met top Queensland trainer, Shannon Price, until Wednesday’s (May 29) 2024 Trot Rods Finale at Redcliffe Paceway.
Now the 21-year-old says he will never forget the six-times Group One winning champion horsewoman after what he termed was ‘the best meeting of his career’.
“I’ll always remember the name ‘Shannon Price’ now. What a night! The most successful of my brief career so far. Shannon had the horse trained to perfection. I’d never driven the gelding (Hold Onto Ya Bling) before, but I knew he had a lot of speed, and from gate three, I thought we had the engine to go close.
“I was thinking that if we got the trail – which we did – we could win, but just before the last race I thought the chance of a Trot Rods Title had gone when it started raining. Like I said the win is a real credit to Shannon. The horse looked and felt spectacular,” said Rothwell, a rising star, who was voted by the harness racing public to compete on Grand Finals night.
“I’ve only ever driven three winners in a night twice before, and this is by far the most memorable of them. It was a bit stressful though, competing against the best, and then hardly getting time between races for a drink.
“The hatrick makes it even more special knowing that I did it for one of the State’s most accomplished trainers, and I drove against a high-quality field which included the best from Queensland, plus national champions from two countries,” added the former Victorian, who was born in New South Wales.
As well as a Trot Rods crown at her third attempt, the 2024 title was a personal one for Price. The 50-year-old Alberton horsewoman was inspired to win on grand finals night by her late father, Tony, who was born on the same day as finals night in 1942.
“It was Dad’s 82nd birthday, so I felt he was smiling from above. Dad passed away nine years ago, and he and Mum (Katie) loved the races and horses, and I was always into them as well, especially early on when I was growing up in Cairns. Then in 1985 we moved to Brisbane and my love of the animal just grew the older I got.
“Dad actually bought my first racehorse for me on my 20th birthday in 1994 – Autumn Tide (15 wins) – and that gelding provided me with my first ever training win. It set me on my way.
“I know I’ve won some big Group races since then (six Group Ones, three Group Twos, one Group Three & a Listed Classic – 974 wins and $7.6m in purses), but this was just as good, just as exciting in its own way. The suspense of waiting for the time added to it all. I only had one horse in on Grand Final night, and to own and train the winner at my third attempt is something I’m quite proud of,” Price said.
“Yes it is very special, and the horse-float is needed because we do a lot of travelling locally, nationally, and internationally. It couldn’t have come at a better time because we needed an overhaul,” she added.
It took until the last of the 10 heats on grand final night for the Price trained and Rothwell driven Hold On To Your Bling to claim the 2024 Trot Rods Crown. With the title came a $10,000 bonus, an Otto Tuza three horse float worth $25,000, the $4,250 winning stake, and a third Qbred bonus worth $3,000, and an extra $1,000 for breaking the record.
The Alberton-based Price stable nailed the 2024 title by 0.5 a second. The Raboki Pty Ltd-owned Hold Onto Ya Bling paced the 947m mobile (one lap) in 63.86, compared to the second-placed time of 1:04.4 which was shared by Feeling Flirty and Red Star Deal in Heats 15 and 18 respectively. Just 1,000th of a second separated the overall second and third place-getters.
“It was a pleasure to meet Nathan. He seems a nice young man. I liked that he listened to my instructions very well. He’s a talented driver with a big future, and we are all so grateful for what turned out to be a Series-winning drive,. It panned out perfectly,” Price said.
Rothwell, has now amassed 91 career wins ($613,724) since relocating to Queensland with his parents, Michele and Mark, and twin brother – Will, in late 2022. The latter is a trials driver and only several weeks away from having his first race-day drive.
“Mum and Dad have also given up their lives back in Victoria to help us make a go of it. They bought a 40-acre farm in Mount Hallen (100km west of Brisbane) and we are slowly building a fast-work track on it. We have a couple of horses in work, but hopefully when the track at home is finished we might get a few more. In the meantime, Marburg is only half an hour away.
“We have no other siblings, and this is something Will and I have wanted to do for many years now. We are so grateful to our parents for supporting us. It’s a family stable,” Rothwell said.
In fact, one of the twins’ former mentors in Victoria was on track to support the 2024 Trot Rods champion.
“Jenni Lewis from Harness Racing Victoria’s Training Department made her way to see the Trot Rods. Nathan and Will were part of HRV Training Program before they came to Queensland,” said Redcliffe Harness Racing Club President, Bernie Ring.
Ring congratulated Rothwell on his three wins behind Blackjack Crippa (race 2) 64.9; Firebolt (race 4) 65.4; and Hold Onto Ya Bling (race 10) 63.86 – saying the 21-year-old was a star in the making.
“Nathan has a very bright future and the harness racing public knew that by voting him onto the Grand Finals Final Five. We are so pleased his family made the move up here.
“Nathan played a big part in making the fifth Trot Rods Final a big success. It was also a brilliant training effort by Shannon and her team. Shannon has recently had Speak The Truth race in New Zealand and now she’s the 2024 Trot Rods winning trainer and owner. We all know the hard work Shannon does with her horses. They are always turned out in splendid condition,” Ring said.
“It was again a magnificent series again. It was exciting because it came right down to the wire. It was a successful night with major stables targeting the whole Series. There were good crowds up in restaurants well. Congratulations to all that have participated in this Series right from day one through to the Finale. As they say – if you build it they will come,” he added.
Meanwhile, Price, who works a team of 14 at Alberton, which is rural town of 547 on the Gold Coast, recently returned from New Zealand where one of her stable stars Speak The Truth competed in two Group Ones (late April and early May) and a million-dollar race on April 12.
“It’s been very busy and obviously Speak The Truth (16 wins and $648,321) and Sure Thing Captain (seven wins and $146,432) are the stable stars, but now this gelding (Hold On To Ya Bling) is the flavour of the month, capping off a busy, few weeks.
“We will be back at Redcliffe again on Wednesday week (June 12) with talented For A Reason filly, Reason To Shine (3 wins from 15 starts), in the 3-year-old Redcliffe Sales Series race the week after,” said Price, who is the youngest of two sisters, and was educated at Somerville house in Brisbane.
Footnote: The quickest time ever recorded in five years of Trot Rods Finals came in in 2022 when the Ricky Thurlow trained and Cam Hart driven, Just Dessy, flew the 947m mobile in 63.46 seconds – 0.4 of a second quicker than Hold Onto Ya Bling’s 63.86.
