Nathan Dawson shares Marburg victory

Glamorgan Vale harness racing driver Nathan Dawson has clocked up his 50th season win at Marburg Pacing Association with family horse Sir Camelot, but he’s had to share the win.

The 20-year-old claimed the milestone on Saturday when Sir Camelot lead from start to finish.

But their victory was shared with Mister Maverick (Francis Weston), with stewards calling the race a dead heat.

“We got to the front and from there we lead and I thought we’d be pretty hard to beat,” Dawson said.

Marburg Pacing Association committee member Wayne Chalk said it was the first he knew of any dead heats at the track.

Despite coming back from a four month spell the race one favourite completed the course in good form.

“He’s not the strongest horse so the shorter distances help him a lot,” Dawson said.

“I’ve driven him quite a few times, it’s the first time the horse has had a win since my family got him.

“We got him about a year ago, he had a couple of starts then about four months off.”

Dawson added to his season tally with a second race win for the day driving Ryan Veivers’ mare Dixey Styx NZ in race four.

He claimed a second with Chicken on a Chain and third place finish with Nedra Gold, both trained by Dawson’s brother Mitchell.

With 50 wins under his belt , Dawson said he was aiming to supersede his tally from last season.

Last season he finished with 65 wins for the year across Queensland, but said he wanted to get more this season.

“Hopefully I can get a few more Saturday night winners and metropolitan races,” Dawson said.

He currently leads the Marburg Pacing Association winning drivers tally board, a premiership Dawson has won for the past two years.

Additionally he leads Racing Queensland’s Concession Driver board.

In Queensland, Dawson is currently ranked eighth in the state drivers premiership table for 2015-16.

Having grown up in a family of horse lovers, it’s no surprise Dawson found his way into harness racing.

“My parents train horses, and I grew up around them, I was driving mini trotters when I was five years old,” Dawson said.

By Ali Kuchel

Reprinted with permission of the gattonstar.com.au site