Rothackers end the drought with a special win

For Stuart and Janice Rothacker, patience, persistence, and a whole lot of heart finally paid off at their harness racing home track of Bendigo.

Their homebred trotting mare Alabama May (Great Success) broke through impressively for her well-deserved maiden victory, scoring by 13 metres in the Great Ocean Road Real Estate Maiden Trot on June 25 – the couple’s first win in over five years.

“It’s a great feeling to get across the line first, especially when the wins are few and far between!” Stuart said.

“Janice is one of those people who gets very excited during the race – I’ve been driving in races in the past and heard her yelling out, but this time she was standing with friends and restrained herself a bit, at the time,” he laughed.

“But after the race, someone came up to take our photo – I was covered in mud, but Janice grabbed the towel and wiped the horse’s face first!”

The Bendigo victory was the culmination of a long journey with the daughter of their mare Delphi Rose, also bred by the couple.

“Alabama May wasn’t a hard horse to get going, but we’re those sort of people who don’t push them – we let them find their feet,” Stuart said.

“Last year as a three-year-old she did a couple of things wrong by galloping, but we could see she had promise.  So instead of pushing her, we just took our time and eventually it turns your way.

“She had a bit of a gut issue, too, and we had to turn her out for six months, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and give them the time – and you get rewarded in the end.”

Janice does most of the work with Alabama May at the couple’s 36-acre property at Bagshot.

“She came up really well this time in and we just went straight to the races when we thought she was ready,” Janice said.

“She was a bit short first-up when she ran second, and she was good again at her next run when she finished behind one of Chris Lang’s horses,” she said.

“You just think it’s never going to happen sometimes, but at Bendigo I thought, ‘If she goes like she can, she’s a chance’.

“This little girl has always felt a bit special, and we’re just rapt to finally see her get her turn.”

Stuart’s family name has a long and proud place in Victorian trotting history.  His dad was also Stuart and his grandfather was Vic Rothacker.

“I probably had no opportunity but to follow, but I’ve always loved it.  The Rothacker name is starting to die out a bit in the sport now, but it’s certainly been a big part of life for all of our family,” Stuart said.

“Hilton Adios was trained by my grandfather and won the consolation of the Trotters Inter Dominion.  We had some nice horses like Copy Book (13 wins and second in a Mildura Pacing Cup) and he was probably one of the better ones I’ve driven,” he said.

“Another was Trinket, who contested the Inter Dominion and won the Mildura Trotters Cup.  Probably the best was Hilton Bear, that dad drove. He ran in the Inter Dominion (Trotters) at Harold Park (1980). There was a photographer on the inside of the track and when the flash went off, the horse shied, and he never raced again.”

Stuart worked on the family farm, and although he took a break from the horses for a number of years, the sport never left him.

“I used to be on the farm when Dad was training horses, then I started working off the farm and I took a couple of years off – it’s always in your blood, though,” he said.

“I came back when Janice and I moved to Bagshot. I’ve been retired (from work) for 12 months now and Janice has retired and we are just enjoying the horses. You don’t have to cut them short once you aren’t trying to fit in work and raising a family.”

Janice has also trained horses since her youth in Wedderburn helping out family members who also had a passion for the sport.  Her dad Peter Ross and grandfather Les Ross were dual-code trainers and her stepfather Jack Rohan was a trainer as well.

“I got my driver’s licence and had only five drives, on one horse Dundee Rohan – for three wins, a second, and a second last.  I thought I’d just leave it at that and go out on a high!” Janice said.

Check all the Bendigo results and replays here:

From Terry Gange for Harnesslink