Aussie female drivers compete in Night Of Champions

Four visiting female drivers from Australia will be part of the Dorothy Cutts Invitational Skycity Hamilton Mobile Pace at Cambridge tomorrow night.

Kerryn Manning, Brittany Graham, Amanda Turnbull and Ellen Tormey will be matched against eight New Zealand based drivers Natalie Rasmussen, Nicky Chilcott, Emily Johnson, Kirstin Green, Samantha Ottley, Sarah O’Reilly, Crystal Hackett and Sheree Tomlinson.

The twelve women between them have driven a massive 9,166 winners including 122 Group One winners with Natalie Rasmussen (65-New Zealand only) and Kerryn Manning (39) leading the Group One charge.

Forty seven year old Manning has driven seven winners in New Zealand including a New Zealand and a Kaikoura Cup with Arden Rooney, and a Rowe Cup with La Coocaracha. She was the first to win both the New Zealand and Rowe Cups.

In Australia her winning tally is 4,228. Her big race wins there include the Hunter Cup, the Victoria Derby and the Australasian Trotting Championship.

Thirty three year old Amanda Turnbull has driven 2,454 winners in Australia including the NSW Oaks, the Breeders Crown (3YO Fillies) Final, the Gold Crown Final and the Gold Tiara Final. She’s sat behind 14 Group One winners.

Ellen Tormey has been successful 1,099 times in Australia while Brittany Graham has reined 307 winners. Both have yet to taste Group One success.

Of the New Zealanders, Samantha Ottley is the all-time leading New Zealand reinswoman with 744 winners, Nicky Chilcott 693, Natalie Rasmussen 375 (New Zealand wins only), Kirstin Green 360, Sarah O’Reilly 288, Sheree Tomlinson 267, Crystal Hackett 67 and Emily Johnson is close to getting her first win.

Ottley, O’Reilly, Green and Tomlinson have also driven a Group One winner.

Tomorrow night’s race is named after Dorothy Cutt, who in February 1979 was the first female driver to be granted a full professional license.

Cutt’s first professional winning drive was on Kenworthy (Berry Hanover) trained by her father George at the Matamata TC on-course only meeting at Cambridge on the 22^nd February 1979.

The race was one of only three that day with on-course betting reaching $101,547. Kenworthy paid $11.35 and $3.35.

Dorothy had previously driven All Action (Caliburn) to win an Eyelure Derby for female drivers at Alexandra Park in May 1978. Races of this type were put on by clubs to cater for the increasing number of females wanting to drive in full tote races. The race was for C0 horses, run as a non-tote event with a $1,000 stake. Ann Cooney, Annette Houghton and Rosemary Timms filled the minor placings.

Things have come a long way since the late 1970s and female drivers play a huge part in the industry these days.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink