Two new faces at Ascot on Thursday

Two junior drivers – Emma Adams and Olivia Thomas both of whom work for Tisbury trainer Kirstin Green, will be in action on Thursday at Ascot Park.

Twenty three year old Emma Adams will be having her first drive.

“It’s been a long time coming. I got a concussion at the end of last year and then I broke my thumb at the start of this year, so that set me back. But I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.

Emma was part of the Kids Kartz in Southland and received a solid grounding through the programme.

“I had a few years off when Mum moved away, then I did the Interdominion and Drivers Series.”

Emma will drive Sure To Rise (Lazarus) in the Balmoral Lodge Mobile Pace, a horse both she and Olivia have a share in.

“Olivia and I take turns at driving her at home. She’s a nice horse when she wants to be. If she steps away she could be a good chance. She’s drawn the unruly, so will need a bit of luck as well.”

Emma’s mother Kirsty Adams trains and drives, while her grandmother Gay McClymont trains a small team of trotters including Rata and Styrax.

“They’re not at home at the moment and I think it’ll be a while until I’m allowed to drive one of them. She said she’ll give me a drive at some point though. I’ve been bred into it through Mum and Nana. Being around Nana and her horses and Mum, it’s been something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Adams has been working for Green for two and a half years and she drove two winners at the Winton Workouts a fortnight ago.

“I felt comfortable in my last couple of workouts and didn’t feel that I wasn’t meant to be there.”

So how will she be feeling going into her first drive?

“There are a few nerves, but I tend not to psych myself out with nerves and try to stay as calm as I possibly can with a clear headspace.”

Olivia Thomas has six race day drives under her belt.

She became interested in harness racing when her mother Angela began working for Balfour trainer Robert Wilson.

“I went along at the weekend. It was great out on the grass track and he had some good horses. In 2024 Tyler Dewe offered me a job, so I left school and started working for him, then I came here,” she said.

Thomas had her first drive at Winton last month behind Spiritinthesky.

“We went backwards at the start, but once she got going she went good. It’s so much faster. I didn’t realise how much faster it was. We got round, which is what we were aiming for being the first time out there.”

She too is testimony to the Southland Kids Katz programme.

“I had my own two ponies and did it for about six years. I’ve aged out, but I still go along and help them out.”

She represented New Zealand at the 2023 Inter-Dominion Pony Trots in Queensland, Australia.

“It was great fun and I met a lot of people over there and I still keep in touch with them.”

Thomas has two drives tomorrow – first starter Ithinkwerealonenow in Race Three and Mach A Wish in Race Eight.

“I drive them both in work and I drove them both at the Workouts the other day and I was quite happy with the way they went. They sprinted home quite nice. I think I’ll tuck them away and they run home and we get top four.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink