By Jordan Gerrans
To reach a 1000 winners as a harness racing driver was something Queensland’s Nathan Dawson never really considered doing when he started his career.
The top Brisbane reinsman had been in the nervous 990s for a number of weeks but finally broke through to four figures when Justa Little Bit won on Monday evening at Redcliffe.
Dawson has been on the verge of cracking the career milestone for some time, but a 14-day suspension early in May put him on the sidelines and delayed the triumph.
The 25-year-old described 1000 winners as a “proud achievement” on a personal level after starting out on shaky ground in his driving career.
“I did not think I would be able to get to a milestone like this when I first started out and it is good to get there,” Dawson said.
“I am proud to get to 1000.
“When I first started off, I was struggling, not getting many drives and winners.
“But trainers were good to me and it has just spiked from that, it is a lot of winners already and I am still young.
“It is good to get there young in my career.”
After getting to 1000, the Tamborine-based horseman has now set his sights on more Group 1 glory, hopefully adding to his one career win at that level.
“Hopefully there is more to come,” he said.
“My strike rate is going good at the moment, it is just under 50 per cent for wins, so that is going well.
“On top of now reaching 1000 winners, it is a great achievement that a lot of people never get too.”
Dawson trains around 10 pacers himself, while freelancing his drives around to different Queensland trainers.
Outside of his training and driving duties, Dawson loves a game of golf and can be found on the greens whenever he gets a day off from the horses.