The Junortoun-based trainer sent only three horses north for last week's Mildura Pacing Cup Carnival.

Two of them returned as winners, the other notched up a third.

Not a bad few days' work, especially for a trainer, whose trips to Mildura are very much few and far between these days.

A marvellous two days and trip down memory lane ignited with a drought-breaking win on Friday night with Rocks Arnt Pets, who notched up his first victory in 11 months in the NR 48 to 55 pace.

It was followed by Leigha Miller's tough victory in the NR 61 to 71 pace on Mildura Pacing Cup night on Saturday.

Both winners were driven to perfection by 22-year-old James Herbertson, who leads all but one driver Greg Sugars in the state driver's premiership standings.

A pair of wins and his third on Friday night with Dont Waste Time were the result of some perfect placement by Donaldson, who had not had a starter at Mildura since scoring a win with Leigha Miller (driven by Jack Laugher) on September 24, 2019.

The trek north before that in May of 2019 also brought success with Live Like A Royal (driven by Ellen Tormey).

His two carnival wins continued a successful association with Mildura for the 62-year-old trainer.

"I'm not bragging here, but I can't remember the last time I went up there and didn't have a winner," he said.

"I'm guessing, but over the last 15 years, I might have been up there 10 or 12 times, but I have come home with a winner every time.

"We have had a really good run there. It's just been a lucky track for me.

"It's about placing your horses. I don't take anything to Mildura unless I can work out they are going to draw well, it's just too hard to win from the back half of the field there.

"I'll come if the draws are good. I picked these races for my horses a month ago because I knew they would draw well.

"They were perfect races for them."

Mildura has always held fond memories for Charlton born-and-bred Donaldson, despite a relatively short stint in the city's former Commercial Bank of Australia branch, located on the site of what is now the Honey Bar and Rooftop (formerly the Sandbar) in Langtree Avenue.

"When I was in Birchip, I really cut my teeth up in Mildura and did a lot of my early driving in Mildura," he said.

"We had quite a lot of horses in work at Birchip; four or five trainers and I used to be the only licensed driver in the town.

"Every Mildura meet we would have three or four horses go around and I was able to win a hell of a lot of races over the years when I drove."

There was plenty of joy to be shared, with both Leigha Miller and Rocks Arnt Pets having large ownership groups, including the 34-strong membership of the Pacers Bendigo 1 and 2 syndicates.

Donaldson admitted to 'some slight concerns' heading into Saturday night regarding the six-year-old mare Leigha Miller.

"She was the $1.80 favourite, but she copped a pretty hard run at Wagga the previous Saturday," he said.

"I took her to Wagga for a 10-point claim in a race. I sort of looked at the noms and thought she'd be right in this.

"I'd heard a lot about the brand new Wagga complex, but had never been there, so I wanted to go and have a look, so there were lots of reasons to go.

"Blow me down, they extended the noms and the top trainer from Sydney Jason Grimson has a really good three-year-old called Sugar Apple, who ran fourth in his New South Wales Derby heat and has won seven out of nine since he bought it from New Zealand, and he put it in.

"It's drawn right beside us and went around at about $1.25. They went 1:52 and we got stuck outside him and 53:8 his last 800m.

"We did a good job to still be second or third into the straight, but she got the wobbles in the straight (to finish seventh).

"But she did a good job - she ran a personal best.

"It was only a seven-day turnaround, so I really had to look after her; I was umming and ahhing about going to Mildura.

"James Herbertson said she felt a fraction flat on Saturday night, but that would be from the run at Wagga, but she had a bit of class on them and was still good enough to win."

Leigha Miller, by Art Major out of the mare Misty Miller, has pretty much come full circle for Donaldson.

The mare had 33 starts for five wins at the start of his career before being sent north to be trained by Shane Sanderson at Menangle.

Her time in New South Wales was ultimately short-lived.

Less than two months after debuting for Sanderson in January last year, the trainer relocated to Charlton, bringing Leigha Miller with him.

Her first start back in Victoria was a win at Swan Hill before being unplaced at her next four starts (twice at Melton), which preceded the mare's return to Donaldson.

Saturday's win was the first in her time back at Junortoun in 13 starts, boosting her overall record to 10 wins and 11 placings from 56 starts for earnings of $60,573.

Donaldson was stoked to see the often luckless Rocks Arnt Pets break through for his first win in 11 months on Mildura Trotters Cup night.

He did it in style too, bursting clear at the top of the straight to put more than six-metres between himself and his nearest rival Come On Elvis for Sunraysia trainer Frank Cavallaro.

Trained his entire career by Donaldson, the sometimes temperamental Rocks Arnt Pets has now won seven races and been placed 14 times in 61 career starts for $44,830 in prize money.

His previous most recent win was at Charlton on May 17 last year, breaking a drought of 16 starts between wins.

"He's had a lot of bad luck, one of those really unlucky horses whose form reads a lot better than it is," he said.

"It didn't surprise me that he won on Friday night, he trialled very well at Bendigo in the lead-up and we have changed some shoeing on him up front and it's helped him get around the home bend.

"He was losing half a length coming around the home bend when he starts striking himself - he hits his shins.

"The new shoes seem to have helped and his trial at Bendigo went really smooth.

"If the races are run to suit, he's a capable little horse. He's not weak, but you can bring him undone by using him too much in the first 350m."

It was in some ways a sentimental win for star young driver Herbertson, whose father Ashleigh trains the better performed relative Hugo Rocks.

Donaldson hinted Rocks Arnt Pets could be in the throes of his final Victorian preparation, but was optimistic he could win 'one or two more races' over the next few months.

"We will give him a freshen up - his previous run at Yarra Valley was a bit below his best, so we gave him a fortnight off and freshened him up," he said.

"He bounced back pretty good at Mildura, so hopefully we can sneak another one or two wins out of him.

"His future might lie in Queensland."

A career at stud beckons for the mare Leigha Miller this spring, with Donaldson further hoping to concoct a couple more wins.

Following a freshen-up, her next assignment will be a $20,000 mares race at Tabcorp Park Melton in a few weeks' time.

"If I could win of those $20,000 races, I would retire her the next day," Donaldson said.

"She's had just over 50 starts and that is about as many starts as I like to give my mares, so I think that's nearly enough.

"I was talking to Frank Cavallaro on Sunday morning and it's remarkable, every April she races well. April and May are when she really comes good."

Donaldson hopes to be back in Mildura for next year's cup carnival.

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