Diamonds to shine

By Darren Clayton

Team Diamonds and Pearls is the brainchild of owner and breeder Sharon Mitchell.

After witnessing the atmosphere of the inaugural Ladbrokes Ultimate Driver Championship in 2025, there was a burning desire to have friends and family involved in 2026 to really focus on the social aspect and carnival atmosphere the series brings.

Mitchell applied and was granted a slot for the series but there will be more at stake than just the social aspect of the week.

Team Diamonds and Pearls -an all-female team- will not only bring the glamour to both nights in pit lane, but the aim is also to complement the socialising by introducing new people to a night out at the trots and reinvesting back into the sport.

“What our plan is, if we get some success and win some prizemoney, we are going to reinvest that on the Sunday in the Nutrien Sale and syndicate a horse to our women’s group,” Mitchell told Mobile Rolling when their slot bid was announced last year.

Filling the syndicate was easier than anticipated, with some interstate friends keen to be involved having already experienced a Brisbane harness carnival last winter.

“It wasn’t difficult at all and once I spoke to these women, they had such a good time during the Inter Dominion carnival, they were certainly keen to be on board.”

As Team Diamonds and Pearls took shape, the only logical decision was to be represented on track by a female driver.

“I spoke to my favourite female driver and she was on board.”

Enter Trista Dixon.

Claiming a maiden Group 1 victory in 2025 when Fate Awaits became the first three-year-old pacer to win the Rising Sun, Trista was the only female driver in Queensland to win at Group 1 level in 2025.

While she may not have the quantity of wins that her nine opponents in the UDC boast, Dixon is no stranger to quality horse flesh, having driven in over 140 races at Group level, producing multiple wins, and has even driven in a New Zealand Cup.

Racebooks may show husband Grant’s name as the trainer, however everything at their Tamborine operation is a well-oiled machine overseen by Trista, with Grant the first to point out both the enormity of Trista’s daily contribution and that Leap To Fame would not be the force that he is without her guiding touch.

With over 400 career wins, most of Trista’s victories have been at metropolitan level which includes a piece of Albion Park history.

The mother of three is the only female driver to ever drive five winners on the same metropolitan card, achieving the feat back in 2017 and is looking forward to the challenge that this series will present, tackling some of the biggest names in the sport.

“It is a privilege to be a part of this series, and I am looking forward to taking on all the other drivers,” she said.

“They all have a range of skills as a group and each driver is so good in their own different way.

With her own versatile driving style mixing aggression with patience, the UDC will provide a different challenge, partnering with horses from other stables that she would normally be competing against.

Just like the training operation, Trista will play a key role in which horses she will drive in the Ultimate Driver Championship when it comes to making their draft day picks.

“Myself, Grant, Greg (Mitchell) and Sharon will make the selections, with some of the other slot holders coming along to support on the day.

“I didn’t attend last year’s draft, but I watched the livestream, it looked intense.

“We will come up with a plan and stick to it as much as we can, but at the end of the day what will be, will be.”

Whatever that plan is, you can be assured that Trista will not be able to dodge the spotlight that she is normally happy to avoid if Team Diamonds and Pearls sit atop the leaderboard at the end of the 20-race series.