SHE’S keen to reclaim her throne, but for Dani Hill Sunday night’s tournament represents a “wonderful opportunity”.
Hill will return to the scene of her grand moment – Launceston – to compete against 11 of the nation’s leading ladies for the Australian Reinswomen’s Championship.
In 2018 Hill won five of the nine heats to be crowned the inaugural winner.
Hill also finished second in another heat, but was later promoted to first when the winner’s urine sample showed the presence of arsenic above the permitted threshold of 0.30 ug/ml, to wit 0.33 ug/ml.
The South Australian then missed the 2019 edition due to a race fall, while the Covid-19 pandemic forced last year’s series to be cancelled.
Queensland star Narissa McMullen claimed the tiara in Hill’s absence.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Hill will be in the thick of action on the Apple Isle.
“It seems like forever since I won the first Championship,” Hill said. “I missed the next year and then we all missed last year!
“We have to fly to Sydney first so I am a little concerned that with the weather we may not even get to Tasmania.
“I’m looking forward to being down there with all the girls and having some fun on the track.
“When the races are on we take it seriously, but we spend plenty of time laughing when we’re off the track.
“I’d like to win again, but we all know these series always come down to the luck of the draw.”
As for the wonderful opportunity, Hill is excited by the prospect of adding another win to the Teal Pants Team’s tally.
Thanks to the vision of Tasracing, the series is included in the Teal Pants Campaign, which came to an end last Sunday.
Between February 1 and March 14 the sport’s ladies throughout Australasia wore specially-designed teal pants to raise awareness and valuable funds for ANZGOG – Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group.
Along with the search for a cure, the funds are distributed to the research nurse program and ANZGOG’s education and prevention program Survivors Teaching Students, where ovarian cancer survivors go in to the classrooms of medical students to present about their journey of diagnosis and living with a life threatening disease
Money is earned via each win during the campaign, with the various state governing bodies donating a set amount per victory, which is matched by the state’s major wagering company.
On average a win is worth $400 for the kitty.
“The great thing about the series is we are guaranteed to add six wins to the teal pants total no matter who wins,” Hill said. “This gives us a wonderful opportunity to add a little extra to the already amazing tally.
“It’s such a wonderful cause and is getting bigger all the time.
“Even my daughter Brooke was determined to make sure she qualified for the pony trots this year to get her teal pants and be a part of the team.”
