Inglis proudly bring you:
Donna Scott – Albury “Girl” Through And Through
By John Curtis
HOME is where the heart is!
Albury-based DONNA SCOTT has no intention of leaving the southern New South Wales border city where she was born and raised.
A self-confessed “country girl”, she did part company with home, understandably, for a while during an extremely difficult period in her life, but is back to stay.
That is despite the fact it is a much easier assignment hopping across the border to race in Melbourne when you have a horse good enough, compared with racing in Sydney.
But thanks to RacingNSW initiative, Scott isn’t remotely thinking about leaving home again.
“Going to Melbourne with a horse is a comfortable day trip,” she said.
“Sydney is different altogether. To do the right thing by your horse, it’s an overnight stay.
“But why would you leave given how RacingNSW continues to increase prizemoney?”
Whilst Scott has won races at Flemington and Caulfield, putting her name to a Sydney winner had been both elusive and frustrating.
A relative newcomer to her stable in Gusonic changed all that when successful on Royal Randwick’s inner Kensington circuit in June.
Having his first preparation and his seventh start for his new trainer, the lightly-raced Magnus six-year-old gelding landed a Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m) under Tim Clark.
Runner-up Tawfiq Lass confirmed the form by winning her next two midweek starts in town before consecutive Rosehill Gardens seconds at Saturday meetings in late July and mid-August.
“Winning with Gusonic was a tremendous thrill,” Scott said. “Sydney hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for me.
‘Even our best horse Lord Von Costa couldn’t win there. He ran two seconds in a row in TAB Highways in early 2016.”
Scott, however, didn’t let the delight of an overdue Sydney breakthrough influence her to keep Gusonic in work, hoping to get a berth in the line-up for the rich $2m The Kosciuszko at Randwick next month.
“He did a terrific job for us, also winning at the Black Opal Stakes meeting at Canberra in March as well as being placed four times,” she said.
“But he had been up for a long time, and deserved a spell.
“All going well, we will aim for the Country Championships there next autumn.
“He ran a great race in our Southern Districts heat earlier this year when he led and fought on gamely to finish third (only the first two qualified) to Another One, who then won the final at Randwick.”
Scott knows a thing or three about preparing horses for the Country Championships.
Her father Graham Hulm trained Lord Von Costa when he finished third in the 2016 Southern Districts heat, and also Bennelong Dancer when she finished second two years later.
Scott then had Bennelong Dancer in her care when she won the 2019 Qualifier before finishing third to Noble Boy in the $500,000 Final, and also when the mare ran second in the 2020 Qualifier.
“Bennelong Dancer was retired in 2020 and now has a colt by Lonhro, and is in foal to that horse again,” she said.
Scott has been around horses virtually all her life.
“Dad bred a few ponies on the farm, and sent a horse to Ron Stubbs when he was training the first time around at Albury,” she recalled.
“Ron had plenty of horses in work at the time and was looking for staff. I was around 20 then and a bit of a tomboy, and Dad thought it would be good for me to work there.”
It was during her time at the Stubbs stable that Scott met her future husband Brett, who was also based there.
He had begun his riding career in Melbourne before moving to Albury, and rode for nearly 20 years in the Southern Districts area before turning his hand to training in 2002.
Donna Scott’s world was turned upside down in July, 2008 when her husband passed away suddenly, leaving her to bring up their two young children, daughter Danielle and son Brett Jnr, alone – along with looking after the horses.
Donna Scott with daughter Danielle.
He had trained more than 70 winners, including a Melbourne breakthrough with then two-year-old Look Jonathan ($14), who made a successful debut at a Sunday meeting at Sandown in March 2003, ridden by Brad Rawiller.
“Brett had half a dozen horses in work at the time of his death, and only a week earlier had won at Wagga with another first starter Cashed Up Lady ($11), with Michael Travers aboard,” Donna Scott said.
“RacingNSW stewards were very helpful arranging my licence to take over training our horses after Brett died.
“My first winner was Zeiss at Wagga on September 20, a couple of months after his death.”
Scott kept her full-time job as well as “pottering about with a few horses” before eventually deciding on a sea change.
“Brett Jnr had become an apprentice motor mechanic, so Danielle and myself packed up and headed to Sydney to work for Peter Snowden at Darley (now Godolphin) at Warwick Farm.”
Scott says she lasted only 12 months in Sydney before heading back home. “I’m a country girl and was homesick,” she said.
“Danielle stayed on for a bit and worked for a couple of other stables.
“She and jockey Blaike McDougall are partners, and they now have two young children.
“They have moved to Melbourne to enable Blaike to have a good crack at establishing himself there.”
Scott renewed her licence after returning to Albury, and has underlined her skill by training 75 winners in the past four seasons.
“I have a really good staff, and Dad also helps out at the stable, which is close to Albury racetrack,” she said.
“We only have to walk our horses across the road to work them in the morning.
“However, getting suitable trackwork riders is a big problem in our area.”
Scott’s racing business honours her late grandmother, being named Hazel Park. “She was a beaut old stick, who had 11 grandkids and loved her racing,” she said.
“I keep between 20-25 horses in work, and it’s a good mix of older and younger horses. We work hard, and I love what I do.”
Scott says the now retired 10-year-old gelding Lord Von Costa is by far the best horse she has trained.
“He was a once in a lifetime horse, winning three races at Flemington.
“Dad trained Lord Von Costa early on, including his two TAB Highway seconds at Randwick, and we left him with Stephen Brown (former Darwin trainer) in Melbourne after he ran second in a 3Y0 Handicap at Flemington in June, 2016 as we were under water at home at the time.
“Stephen won the Listed Creswick Stakes down the 1200m straight at Flemington with him the following month.
“Dad took him back later that year and ran second to Santa Ana Lane with him in the 2017 Wagga Town Plate when he came from last of 16 runners, and also second in a Benchmark 90 Handicap at Flemington.”
When Scott’s father had some ill health, she took Lord Von Costa under her wing and won two more races with him at Melbourne racing’s headquarters in 2020; a Benchmark 84 Handicap in January (ridden by Blaike McDougall) and Listed All Vic Sprint in July.
“Lord Von Costa absolutely loved the Flemington straight track,” she said. “He has a good home for the rest of his life at my sister and brother-in-law’s spelling farm between Albury and Holbrook, and looks after the babies.”
Having had Listed success, Scott’s ambition is to train a Group winner.
How special it would be if she achieves that with the aptly-named Our Last Cash, Lord Von Costa’s half-brother and the last foal of his dam Cashed Up Lady!
The Dash For Cash mare raced only nine times for two wins (at Wagga and Albury in 2008), and despite a limited racetrack progression, showed enough to embark on a breeding career.
“Cashed Up Lady had plenty of ability, but was never able to fully realise it because she had bad joints,” Scott explained.
“We really wanted to keep her to breed from, and she hasn’t let us down, although sadly we lost her in November, 2017.
“Our Last Cash is a five-year-old by Magnus, and has raced only five times so far for two wins (both at Wagga over 1200m in April and May this year.).
“He probably displays more ability than Lord Von Costa, but has been a bit precious and is back in work.
“You never know. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
