Episode 531: Donna Scott

·41 min·3 clips

Donna Scott took over training after her husband Brett died suddenly, winning her first race with a horse he loved.

This episode features an interview with country horse trainer Donna Scott, conducted by host John Tapp. Scott is a successful trainer based in Albury, New South Wales, known for her hard work and consistent results with a small team. Scott discusses her recent winner, Magnolia Star, a mare she acquired after trainer Mitch Beer suggested the horse was better suited to country racing. She speaks highly of her promising three-year-old filly, One Hard Lady, who had won three straight races and placed at Flemington, with plans targeting a listed race in Melbourne and potentially the Kosciuszko. Scott's entry into training followed the sudden death of her husband, Brett Scott, a former jockey and trainer, in 2008. She took over his six-horse team and won her first race with a gelding named Zeiss at Wagga a couple of months later. To gain experience, Scott and her daughter Danielle worked for a year at the large-scale Darley (now Godolphin) operation under Peter Snowden, where Scott handled horses like the Group 1-winning filly Guelph. Scott's daughter, Danielle, had a brief riding career, winning a Griffith Cup on a horse trained by her mother before retiring to start a family. Danielle's partner, jockey Blake McDougall, is now a key part of Scott's team, providing valuable trackwork feedback; McDougall was the champion NSW rider in the 2020-21 season with 183 winners. Scott credits her stable foreperson, Maddy Connell, as indispensable and mentions she currently employs two apprentices, Amy O'Driscoll and Robert Wilcox. She reflects on notable horses from her career, including Lord Von Costa, a Flemington listed winner who now lives on her farm. Other standout horses include Bennelong Dancer, who won a Country Championships qualifier; Our Last Catch, who placed in a Country Championships final; and Villasaurus, who provided her first TAB Highway win at Rosehill. Scott also recalls winning a race at Caulfield with a mare named To Kiss a Cod and finally breaking her Sydney city winner's drought with Goo Sonic in 2021. She operates with a seven-horse truck, often driven by her father, and utilizes a spelling farm named Hazel Park after her grandmother. The conversation is relaxed, informative, and personal, tracing Scott's life and career in racing with a focus on key horses and people. Listeners interested in the personal stories behind country racing, stable management, and the journey of a dedicated trainer will enjoy this episode. Those seeking analysis of breeding, betting, or metropolitan racing might find it less relevant.

As heard by us

A country-racing conversation about family know-how, stable work, and the people who keep it moving.

Donna Scott reads as a trainer shaped by family knowledge and steady yard work. The story stays close to her Albury base and the people around it, especially the horse sense she picked up from her father, Graham Holm, and the practical help that keeps the stable going.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how Donna Scott keeps a 25-horse Albury stable producing winners.

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