Rocky clinging to Trot Rods lead ahead of finale

By Jordan Gerrans

Wanora trainer Melissa Gillies will have her fingers crossed throughout the finale program of Trot Rods for 2025 with her consistent pacer Rockon Rocky the current clubhouse leader.

The Gillies stable have a perfect strike-rate when it comes to the popular 947 metre racing series.

The 41-year-old trainer was yet to start a pacer from her team in the previous editions of the Trot Rods series over the years before Rockon Rocky lowered the benchmark time at Redcliffe last Wednesday evening.

Rockon Rocky’s 64.09 second performance will be the time that all the runners will be aiming to beat when the last 10 heats are run on Wednesday night around ‘The Triangle’.

This time last year, trainer Shannon Price and Nathan Rothwell claimed the 2024 Trot Rods prize when Hold Onto Ya Bling stole the show late in the piece on the finale program, scoring in 63.86 seconds to hand the trainer and driver their first title in the popular short-course series.

Gillies is hopeful that Rockon Rocky’s time will stand up through the last 10 heats.

“He is just a very fast horse – he is quite fast – so we thought he would suit it,” Gillies said of running the gelding in a Trot Rods heat. 

“It is a pretty solid time but there is every chance the time will get knocked off on the last night.”

The Gillies stable have raced Rockon Rocky throughout his 35 career efforts.

The son of Ohoka Punter always puts in but does not do a lot of winning for all his solid performances. 

The victory on Wednesday was just his fourth while he has placed on 15 other occasions.

Rockon Rocky has enjoyed a strong May, winning twice as well as recording another second-place finish.

“He can get a little bit frustrating at times, but he is always thereabouts,” Gillies said.

“But, you cannot get too cranky with him because he is never really far away. He does not always want to win.”

Champion reinsman Pete McMullen has struck up a close partnership with Rockon Rocky and has driven him in all his race starts and trials in 2005. 

From four on the front row, McMullen was happy to let the leaders go hard in the early exchanges on Wednesday before making his move on the final bend.

“We were really happy with how he went on Wednesday night,” Gillies said.

“We were really, really stoked.

“He is always a very consistent horse – he is never far away.

“We thought he would go well but he had only ever seen Redcliffe once before though. He definitely hit the line strong.”

A $1,000 bonus is awarded to any horse which betters the official leading time through the series.

The horse with the fastest official time at the conclusion of the series will win a $10,000 owner cash bonus and a $10,000 trainer cash bonus.

The finale night, inclusive of the 10 heats, will feature five leading drivers who will drive in each race with drives to be selected via a draft following the fields being released.