White-hot Lauren breaks through with turbulent victory

Winning races might just come naturally to 20-year-old Lauren White if her turbulent harness racing victory with Im Miss Royalty (Im Stately) is anything to go by.

White claimed a breakthrough triumph in the sulky at just her second career start on Friday night (Dec. 1), but the result didn’t come without its fair share of drama.

Im Miss Royalty galloped within the first 300m of the race and seemingly lost her winning chance, but recovered quickly and produced a withering finale from last to take out the Ballarattrottingclub.com.au Trot.

White said the early mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“I knew I didn’t want to be up the front. I discussed with my father (Ian) on the way that we didn’t want to be up the front,” White said.

“We know she likes to sit and then sprint and come over the top of them, and of course she came out of the mobile as fast as she could and wanted to go forward.

“In a way I’m sort of lucky that she galloped because she ended up in the right spot.

“I wanted her at the back of the field and we just got a bit of luck with the horse in front of her early.

“I was pretty frustrated and tried to get her back, and then she galloped.

“I just thought I might stay off the fence and follow, and maybe she might have a little bit of energy left at the end.”

The result was a fifth career win for Im Miss Royalty, who has now collected over $27,000 in prizemoney for the White family.

“I think after the race I was in complete shock. As soon as I got over the finish line I was in shock and thinking to myself: oh my god, I can’t believe this has happened. I don’t think the smile has come off my face yet.”

Making the win even more special is the fact White part-owns the horse, who is trained by her grandfather Bill.

“It’s amazing because it’s a horse my brother does a lot of the work with at home and we always help my grandfather with the horses,” she said.

“It was awesome the first win happened with my grandfather.”

The path for White in harness racing started when she was just a little girl helping her family around the stable.

“It’s always been my dream. I have been working the horses or helping around the horses since I could walk. It was all about getting the courage to take the next step driving,” she said.

The Huntly reinswoman has just graduated from Latrobe University in Ballarat with a Bachelor of Science, but hopes to continue her studies while driving at the races.

“I just finished my degree this year and I’m looking to go back to do honours,” she said.

“I’m going to do theoretical maths next year for a year, then go into maths research for a little while and see how that goes.

“If I could get the drives, I’d love to be a professional harness driver.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Lachlan Mitchell, for Harness Racing Victoria