Ford and Van Dongen set to represent Tas at AFDC

24 March 2023 | Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing
Logo

Tarn Ford and Hannah Van Dongen have both been selected to represent Tasmania at the upcoming Australian Female Drivers Championship at Brisbane’s Albion Park.

The six-race series will be held on 1 April.

It will be the first time Ford has represented the state. She has driven 23 winners in her career, with 10 of these coming this season, where she has a winning strike rate of 11% so far in 2023.

It will be the fourth time Van Dongen will represent the state. She is closing in on 100 career winners and finished fifth on last season’s leading female drivers’ premiership after winning the title in the 2019/20 and 2017/18 seasons.

Other drivers competing include:

  • Queensland: Narissa and Taleah McMullen
  • New South Wales: Amanda Turnbull and Jemma Coney
  • Western Australia: Emily Suvaljko and Demi Roberts
  • Victoria: Michelle Phillips and Ellen Tormey
  • South Australia: Samantha Pascoe and Dani Hill.

The series winner is determined by points accumulated over the six heats of the championship.

Ford and Van Dongen will warm up for the series with several drives on the eight-race Hobart card on Friday night, which commences at 17:24 and can be seen on TasracingTV and Sky Racing 2.

 

Related News

13 April 2026
LISTEN: Episode one of The Shepparton Showcase
Dan Mielicki and Rob Auber launch the first episode of The Shepparton Showcase, which previews the harness racing meeting out of the Goulburn Valley on April 14. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
13 April 2026
'You can thank Larry': Price is right for Slipper winner's harness push
Golden Slipper-winning thoroughbred trainer Mick Price's "crush" on champion pacer Leap To Fame has sparked a splurge into harness racing. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY
13 April 2026
Hamilton: Is this harness racing's new powerhouse?
Are we seeing a changing of the guard? For more than a decade, it has been the powerhouse Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin and then daylight in Victoria’s training ranks. But now Team Lee is really emerging. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL COLUMN AT THETROTS.COM.AU
13 April 2026
Dashman's harness examination - April 13
Catch up on the week's harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton. LEAP TO FAME “Stand up ladies and gentlemen and applaud the perfect pacer.” That was the statement of commentator Aaron White as Leap To Fame crossed the line for a second consecutive win in The...
13 April 2026
Tassie star's shock Nullarbor scratching
TASMANIAN star Triedtotellya is out of Friday night’s $1.25 million Group 1 Nullarbor at Gloucester Park. Managing owner Braden Howlett said he was gutted after having to abort the mission. “The bottom line is, the horse hasn’t been himself or eaten since arriving in Perth last Friday....
Click for more