Graham flies the Aussie flag proudly at Georgian Downs

16 August 2017 | Greg Hayes
Logo
Aussie Shane Graham saluted in his final drive at Georgian Downs on Tuesday night

Aussie Shane Graham saluted in his final drive at Georgian Downs on Tuesday night

Queensland reinsman Shane Graham has breathed life back into his World Driving Championship campaign in the final heat on night three at Georgian Downs.  The Canadian track will be one Graham remembers for the rest of his life as Hetties Honey, a 7-year old mare scored narrowly on the 1000 metres circuit in Ontario and shot the Aussie into fourth spot overall.

The Georgian Downs meeting was meant to be a successful one for Graham.  With a strong book of drives and several good draws it looked to be his chance to open up his winning account.  However it turned into a nightmare early as he finished 6th, 8th, 10th and 6th in the first four heats of the night.

In heat five Hetties Honey was down in grade and connections told Graham he could be aggressive in the early stages if he wanted to be.

“They basically left it up to me but said if I wanted to use her up early she would still fight on pretty strongly at the end,” Graham said.

“I tried to cross early but was caught outside Marcus (Miller driving Waikiki Hanover) but when Mika (Forss) charged to the chair I got some pretty good cover.  I got going before the bend and got to the leader on the turn and then held on up the straight.  The mare was pretty tired but she fought on well.”

Graham admitted it had been a tough night up until his victory.

“The less said the better really.  In saying that it is an interesting track, it is a speed track and it is very hard to make ground especially on the final turn.

“I spoke with Marcus (Miller) about it and he said it is the type of the track where you have to get to the leader on the turn, if you haven’t got to them by then the leaders kick away.

“Now that I have won a race over here, I want to make a special mention of my good mate Todd McCarthy, he has travelled across basically as my personal assistant for the week.  He hasn’t done much of a job to be honest, Tom Bagrie (Dexter Dunn’s cousin) has done a better job looking after me but it has been great to have the boys here cheering us all on.”

In other WDC action

HEAT 1 – Canadian driver James MacDonald began the night as he did on Monday night at Mohawk by winning the first heat, this time on Shemars Lulu.  It turned into survival of the fittest as a fast third quarter led to the horses walking up the straight in 32 seconds.

MacDonald saved as much ground as he could and stayed to the inside squeezing through a narrow gap to score.  Last night’s hero Mika Forss finishes second while Malta’s Noel Balacchino was third.

1st Shemars Lulu James MacDonald CANADA

2nd Action Royal Grin Mika Forss FINLAND

3rd Acefourtyfouramber Noel Baldacchino MALTA

HEAT 2 – Produced the biggest controversy of the WDC when first past the post A Boy Named Suuzz driven by Finland’s Mika Forss was placed second after racing inside more than three consecutive marker pegs.  The beneficiary was Marcus Miller as he was elevated to first driving Jansen Hanover.  The decision by the judges was not a surprise and Forss admitted he had gone inside up to five marker pegs.

“He was such a big horse I couldn’t see around him,” Forss said.

“It was disappointing to lose a race like that.”

The win helped Miller cement third position on the overall standings while Noel Baldacchino picked up more vital points finishing third.  Dexter Dunn finished 5th while Mark Purdon was 10th.

1st Jansen Hanover Marcus Miller USA

2nd A Boy Named Suuzz Mika Forss FINLAND

3rd  Adamncam Noel Baldacchino MALTA

HEAT 3 – James MacDonald was back into the winner’s circle again when he won comfortably driving Walk The Plank.  MacDonald confirmed he was concerned up the straight as his drive became unbalanced.

“I was just hoping he didn’t run (break gait),” MacDonald said.

“He lost his gait late so I was just trying to get up the stretch but he held on pretty well.”

Norway’s Eirik Hoitomt was second while Miller was third.  Graham was 10th, Dunn was 4th and Purdon was 7th.

1st Walk The Plank James MacDonald CANADA

2nd Federal Army Eirik Hoitomt NORWAY

3rd Angels Kid Marcus Miller USA

HEAT 4 – In a series first, Norway celebrated a victory with Eirik Hoitomt squeezing through on James And Morgan to score a narrow win.  MacDonald had shown a lot of aggression from a wide draw on Art Of The Deal to find the front but a patient Hoitomt squeezed through to score a rare victory on a pacer.

“The more I go around in the series on pacers the more confident I become,” Hoitomt said.

“I was travelling well at the top of the stretch and just needed somewhere to go, I will be celebrating tonight.”

MacDonald’s second ensured he would hold the lead going to Montreal tomorrow night while Belgium’s Rik Depuydt finished a close third.  Graham was 6th, Dunn was 8th and Purdon was 9th.

HEAT 5 –

1st Hetties Honey Shane Graham AUSTRALIA

2nd Allies Gift Noel Baldacchino MALTA

3rd Im The Man James MacDonald CANADA

 

The overall standings after 14 of the 22 heats

1st James MacDonald CANADA 144 points

2nd Mika Forss FINLAND 130 points

3rd Marcus Miller USA 123.5 points

4th Shane Graham AUSTRALIA 97 points

5th Dexter Dunn NEW ZEALAND 93 points

6th Noel Baldacchino MALTA 90 points

7th Eirik Hoitomt NORWAY 89.5 points

8th Bjorn Goop SWEDEN 86 points

9th Gerhard Mayr AUSTRIA 83 points

10th Mark Purdon NEW ZEALAND 69 points

11th Rik Depuydt BELGIUM 68 points

 

Related News

29 March 2024
Gibson family honoured in more ways than one at Bathurst Carnival
SINCE the inception of the Bathurst Gold Crown in 1987, the Gibson family and their Success Stud have positively contributed to shaping the hugely-successful juvenile carnival. Originally based in Queensland before relocating to the idyllic Young region, the late John Gibson initially operated Success...
29 March 2024
Group 1 mares add star power to Riverina Championships
Four Group 1 winning mares - including two currently considered to be among the nation’s best - will clash in an intriguing battle at the Riverina Championships finals program at Wagga on Sunday. The meeting features two $100,000 finals for four and five year-old pacers - one each for the boys...
29 March 2024
Ford looking for Gold on Good Friday
The combined harness and greyhound meeting on Good Friday night in Hobart is fast becoming a Tassie racing tradition, and it’s back again with eight greyhound races and six harness events making up this year’s 14-race program. Driver Dylan Ford will be out to continue his excellent start...
28 March 2024
New HRV chair Adam Kilgour on challenges, opportunities
Newly appointed Harness Racing Victoria chair Adam Kilgour says his passion for a challenge and the people in racing drives his desire to strengthen the industry. Kilgour was yesterday announced to replace Dale Monteith as the head of the board, on which he has served since 2018, and said he was eager...
28 March 2024
La sun of a gun emerges as Blackbook zeros in on breeding line
La Machane won 20 of her 61 starts and more than $330,000 for connections in Ross and Greg Sugars' care and the mare's making just as big an impression in the breeding barn. Having given us La Puddie ($137,179) and La Captain ($182,020), the Bettors Delight mare has another nice type in Benbullan, who...
Click for more