Kiwi Katherine notches her first Aussie win in Rising Stars race

8 May 2013 - New Zealander Katherine Hagan celebrated her first Australian race win in the first race of the 2013 Harness Racing Training Centre Rising Stars Young Drivers Series at Bendigo's Lord's Raceway  last night.  Hagan (23) showed good skills with a patient drive to win the race on the Burrumbeet-trained mare Metrofromelle.  From gate one Hagan was able to lead the early charge but surrendered the top spot mid-race before using the sprint lane to grab a 1.5 metre victory. A former thoroughbred track rider in Pukekohe near Auckland, Hagan switched to harness racing and notched her first and only other winner in her home country in her first season of racing. In two years of driving in races, Hagan has had limited opportunities both here and in New Zealand. A sales representative for a promotional company, the Melton based Hagan was working for leading trainer/driver Lance Justice for some time but more recently has been driving work for John Justice. “I have only had about 10 race drives in Australia and I am trying to mix working as a sales rep with my driving,” Hagan said.  “I started my career in thoroughbreds but riding track work isn’t the same as trying to win races  so I decided on the change to harness racing. A four-year-old by Metropolitan, Metrofromelle defeated Damascus Road, driven by Mitchell Shrimpton with Pensicola (Sammy Kilgour) charging through on the inside late in the race for third place. Metrofromelle is trained by Ashleigh Herbertson has now won three races.