Trot Rods showdown awaits interstate star Hill

By Jordan Gerrans

Danielle Hill understands what it takes to win a feature race series in the Sunshine State and the talented reinswoman is eager to add the Trot Rods crown of 2026 to her resume.

The South Australian-based Hill is one of three confirmed drivers for the finale program of Trot Rods this year alongside top locals Nathan Dawson and Taleah McMullen.

Hill will join fellow top interstate drivers such as Cam Hart, Luke McCarthy and James Herbertson who have been invited to compete in the finale meeting for Trot Rods over the years.

The 41-year-old has kept a close eye on the heats in recent weeks ahead of her trip to Queensland in the middle of May.

“It is definitely exciting,” she said.

“It is an interesting concept. I have been watching the heats so far very closely.

“I'm really looking forward to it. I had to do a little bit of research to be honest about the series.

“It's been interesting too because some old South Australian horses I noticed have gone into the heats so far.

“So, that's going to be fun if I get to drive horses that I've already driven before, as well.

“I do try and keep a little bit of a close eye on those old SA horses and just see how they're going.”

The Croweater has experience driving around Redcliffe’s ‘Triangle’ track as she last was in the sulky at the venue back in 2009.

On that occasion, she went on to win the Australasian Young Drivers Championship.

She did not collect a winner at Redcliffe during the event, but she did enough to claim the overall prize by landing a victory at the old Gold Coast track on the last night of the series.

The leading SA-based reinswoman won with Smarty Jones at the Gold Coast to seal the prize.

“It was a pretty big thing,” she recalls.

“Smarty Jones' trainer was from SA and the owners of the horse, they were SA-based also.

“It was interesting and a coincidence that I got that horse. 

"He's the one who won for me on the final night, which gave me enough points to win the series.”

Hill has an array of Group-level victories on her resume as well as being crowned the leading driver in SA on multiple occasions.

Hill, Dawson and McMullen will be joined by two more drivers for the last evening of Trot Rods for 2026.

The final two drivers will be revealed in the coming weeks.

A draft for the finale night of Trot Rods will be held on Monday, May 18.

The draft will determine which horses the five drivers will be booked to partner across the last 10 heats.

The finale night on May 20 will receive feature coverage on Sky Racing showcasing on-screen telemetry, driver cam and interviews with drivers.

The finale night broadcast will be hosted by Darren Clayton and Alex Cain.

With four heats of the series already completed, local trainer Jenny Anderson and her stable favourite Last Call are the current clubhouse leader following a 65.9 second win in the middle of April.

The fastest time ever recorded in a Trot Rods race was Fact Finder smashing the clock in 62.99 seconds to win the title last year.