Queensland racing industry mourns loss of Paula D'Addona

By Jordan Gerrans

Paula D'Addona is being remembered as a passionate horsewoman who dedicated her life to thoroughbreds.

The trainer and former jockey passed away on Saturday morning.

She was 53 years of age. 

In a tragic set of circumstances, D'Addona was in the process of relaunching her training career in the months before her death. 

D'Addona’s name was in the form guide on Saturday morning for the first time since June of 2014 just hours after her passing. 

D'Addona’s Uncle Russ finished just over five lengths behind the winner in the Benchmark 65 Handicap over 800 metres at Ipswich. 

The popular industry participant hails from Mossman in Far North Queensland and has resided around the Beaudesert area in recent years as she has reconnected with the racing game.

D'Addona trained and rode extensively throughout North Queensland during her decades within the industry. 

Cairns Jockey Club committee member Rebecca Conlan was a close friend of D'Addona’s for many years and was the godmother of her son Joey. 

Conlan said D'Addona’s family and friends watched with pride and bittersweet emotions as Uncle Russ went around on Saturday at Ipswich.

“She lived and breathed her horses – her thoroughbreds,” Conlan said.

“She loved the animal, the horse, first and foremost – that was her passion.

“She started off life at pony club before going to equestrian and on the showjumping circuit throughout her teenage years throughout North Queensland.

“She was the type of person who got along with everyone at the races.”

According to Racing And Sports’ statistics, D'Addona trained 141 winners dating back to 1999.

The stable enjoyed regular success with gallopers such as Deb Will Do, Be Early, Gypsy Mist and Brilliant Spy over the years, with all four horses winning more than five races.

Her last winner was with a galloper named Much About at Mt Garnet Amateur Turf Club in June of 2014.

D'Addona had a specifically prolific 2001-02 campaign where she prepared 32 winners at an almost 15% strike-rate.

In her time as a jockey between 2003 and 2007, she piloted 25 victories.

She used Townsville and Cairns as her base at different times during her training tenure.

The majority of D'Addona’s runners sported her family’s black and pink colours. 

When she stepped away from training, her parents Joe and Janice D'Addona owned several high-level gallopers that were prepared by Janel Ryan on the Atherton Tablelands who also donned the black and pink silks. 

Those colours tasted Cairns Cup success back in 2021 when Tutelage landed the feature event at Cannon Park.

It was the same just a few years earlier as We Just Love It also claimed the Cairns Cup with champion hoop Robert Thompson in the saddle. 

Conlan described the black and pink colours as ‘synonymous’ with the popular racing clan in North Queensland. 

“She was a character and certainly would let you know her feelings – she was quite vocal,” Conlan said.

“People knew exactly where they stood with Paula.”

D'Addona rode plenty of her own trackwork when she was training her team and suffered a number of falls which halted her involvement in the sport in recent years. 

She had relocated to South East Queensland over the last couple of years and had linked up with childhood friend Olivia Cairns at Beaudesert. 

Cairns employed D'Addona at her stable right up until her passing. 

The duo of Cairns and D'Addona had spent time around each other right across the Sunshine State. 

“I have known her since she was seven, our families were good friends and travelled the show circuit together every year, up from Rockhampton to Mossman” Cairns said.

“We were quite close growing up.

“She got into racing when I was training in Townsville and we met up again really.

“They would come down and stay at our place and our stables most weeks for years and years really.”

Uncle Russ was previously trained by Cairns and had recently been transferred into D'Addona’s name as she aimed to relaunch her own team. 

“She literally had a love for the animal,” Cairns said. 

“It is terribly sad, her passing.”

The close-knit racing community in North Queensland are wrapping their arms around D'Addona’s father Joe and her son Joey. 

“The whole industry is in shock and are there for Joey and the entire family,” Conlan said.

“That is one of the best things about the racing industry is that how close everyone is and tight-knit in times like these.

“The community in racing always gathers around to support the entire family.

“I have had calls from a number of trainers and jockeys up here who have asked what they can do, so everyone is feeling the love, which is the same love and passion Paula put into the industry.

“It is coming back ten-fold to her now because that is what she gave.”

D'Addona is survived by her son Joey.

Racing Queensland extends its condolences to the D'Addona family.