Henry's Hot Hands Get Noticed
Since Woodbine Entertainment Group shifted harness racing to Mohawk Racetrack in April, Trevor Henry has been an unparalleled driving force. He sits atop the wins column and the money column for Mohawk's 2016 meet, and his accomplishments have garnered him some mainstream publicity.
Henry was recently featured in the Toronto Sun with a full one-page article penned by Bill Lankhof. In the article, Henry admits that making that shift to racing on the WEG circuit instead of Ontario's B tracks was never one he feared.
“I could’ve made the jump years ago but to be honest I just didn’t want to. I really only did it because I wanted to slow down,” Henry told The Sun. “Now I don’t have to drive all over...I get to spend Sunday at home with my family and have Tuesday and Wednesday off.
“Before I was never home at night; I’d never be there when the kids got off the bus ... A lot of times I’d only see them on the weekend if they came to the track,” Henry continued. “I made a good living but it could be tough for family.”
There was a time that Henry did find the move difficult, as most adjustment periods are initially.
“On the smaller tracks you have to be more aggressive. The bigger tracks (like Mohawk and Woodbine) I had to learn to be more patient," Henry noted. "I had trouble with that at first."
Judging by the statistics, there doesn't seem to be as much trouble. Among WEG's regulars, Henry is tops in wins (43), money ($633,366) win percentage (20.1%) and UDRS (0.305) for the Mohawk meet. He looks to pad those numbers with drives in eight of Mohawk's ten races on Thursday.
"It all comes down to the horses and I’ve been able to get some good ones," deferred Henry. "As long as you keep winning you’ll get the good horses.”
To paraphrase Stanley Dancer
To paraphrase Stanley Dancer there are Hundreds of good Drivers but only a few great Horses who make average drivers look great.The drivers are almost immaterial!!
Ted and Joe - it's as hard to
Ted and Joe - it's as hard to compare drivers from different eras, so I won't argue. However, Trevor isn't just good when he's driving for a power stable - he's often hitting the ticket and even winning with 80-1 bombs. That's what impresses me. If there's a way to get there, he'll find it, no matter how unlikely the horse looks on paper. I feel a sense of impending doom when I don't use him in a gimmick.
In reply to Ted and Joe - it's as hard to by Sasha Smirnoff
totally agree... Dougie had
totally agree...
Dougie had Firlotte's horses and Stevie had? McIntosh I believe...maybe not but you get the idea.
Henry drives for?
anybody who will give him a drive...big or small
With all due respect, and
With all due respect, and this is by no means a knock against Trevor, but Dougie Brown DOMINATED this circuit for over 10 years in the late 80's and 90's. During that time he was a force. And Stevie Condren was close by as well.
I still don't understand why Dougie stopped driving on the big circuit. He still has as good as hands as he's ever had.
In reply to With all due respect, and by fantom
To understand why Dougie and
To understand why Dougie and Steve dominated all you have to do is look at the trainers they primarily drove for. Stew Firlotte and I believe McIntosh.
Something you need to take with a grain of salt.
Much like would Gingras be that great if he never met Ron Burke and how would Callaghan's stock rise if he was Burke's main man.
Dougie still dabbles in training.
So would Dougie and Steve be that dominating without their high quality stock that Firlotte and McIntosh provided?
Of course not.
In reply to With all due respect, and by fantom
Dougie was my Mom's favorite.
Dougie was my Mom's favorite. She asked me if the horse Happy Family had a chance...
I said no.
Dougie said yes.
Result was a $70 payoff to Mom...
Talk about hitting the ground
Talk about hitting the ground running... Been some time (if ever) that I've seen anyone absolutely dominate this circuit in the manner Trevor has. The first thing I do when I open the book is highlight every drive he has, I don't care if the ML is 30-1. He's that good. Only thing that I see cutting into his margin is Alfie Carroll making the move to WEG. The two best drivers in Canada by a mile, and in my opinion - anywhere.
In reply to Talk about hitting the ground by SAS
Well I agree both are good
Well I agree both are good drivers, but to rank them the bet anywhere I have to challenge you there. Tetrick, Miller, Gingras, Campbell (who can still show the lads how its done), Sears, Waples, and the list goes on. When Henry and Carroll archive as much as these guys let's talk.