Sport
18 December, 2025
Local sentiment at Charlton trots
Local supporters pinned their hopes on Roll With Joe, racing in the colours of her former trainer, the late Joe Thompson, and driven by former Charlton reinsman Ryan Sanderson.
WHILE the atmosphere was subdued at the Charlton trots meeting, the on-track action was strong from the opening race.
Local supporters pinned their hopes on Roll With Joe, racing in the colours of her former trainer, the late Joe Thompson, and driven by former Charlton reinsman Ryan Sanderson.
Thompson, a doyen of harness racing in the district, passed away in the days before last week’s Charlton meeting and was farewelled by family and friends on Friday.
Despite a solid performance, success was not to be for Roll With Joe with the mare finishing third behind winner Merrywood Paul, beaten 2.3 metres.
The 2100-metre contest was run at a strong tempo, with Roll With Joe recording a last half of 56.5 seconds.
Joe Thompson’s colours were back in action in race five with Fair Chance, trained by Leon Fanning and again driven by Sanderson.
Drawing awkwardly from barrier three on the second row, Fair Chance made a bold mid-race move when the field ran a 28.5-second quarter to sit outside the leader, before finishing second, beaten a half-neck by Maas Betting Again, driven by Chris Alford.
The local highlight came in race six when first starter Wind Storm, driven by Jack Laugher, led all the way to score an impressive 16.9-metre victory.
The three-year-old filly is raced by Alison Tormey and trained by John Tormey, and is out of the former handy race mare Prettylilangeleyes, a 15-time winner who was placed on 46 occasions and earned $114,625 in prizemoney, including victory in the 2012 Wedderburn Trotters Cup.
The final event of the day was taken out by The Democrat, a pacer trained at Moyreisk by owner-trainer Barry Ainsworth and driven by Hamilton reinswoman Jackie Barker.
The 11-year-old gelding has now notched up 28 career wins.
Across the border at Globe Derby Park last Monday, heats of the Southern Cross Series were conducted, with the McNaulty brothers, Shaun and Jason, joined by Charlton driver Luke Dunne, making the trip with two Mount Gambier-owned pacers eligible for the series.
Both runners qualified for their respective finals, with two-year-old filly Mezzanotti finishing second in her heat, while three-year-old gelding Zenario justified his $1.04 favouritism, rating 1:56.2 for the 2230-metre event in a dominant 14-metre win.
The Southern Cross Series finals will be held at Globe Derby Park this Saturday.
Meanwhile, seven-year-old trotter Champagnes, owned by Debbie Youngson and trained by her husband Nick, continued her strong season by claiming one of the trot events on the Gunbower Cup Day program. Driven by James Herbertson, the mare recorded her sixth win for the season, with Herbertson now having partnered her to victory on five occasions.
In industry news, the National Ratings handicapping system has been adjusted, with the changes set to come into effect from January 1, while the Breeders Crown will undergo significant changes from 2026.
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