A trio of notable personalities found their way back to Woodbine Racetrack on Friday – a trainer, a driver and a Maple Leaf Trot-winning trotter.
Reinsman Jonathan Drury was back in action for the first time since finding his way to the sidelines in late November. The young driver, who underwent surgery on his shoulder, resurfaced at the Rexdale oval during Friday’s qualifying races.
“I was in an accident when I was younger, a school bus accident, and kind of landed on it. I got in an accident [racing] at Georgian Downs a long time ago and seemed to land on it. It just seems everything I do I kind of bang up that same spot,” explained Drury. “It was never really anything serious, but over time it got worse and worse. There was like a hook on the end of the bone in my shoulder and it was pinching all the tendons so, with wear and tear, my tendons became inflamed and there was less room for them to move and everything was just grinding away.”
Drury, who won 131 races in 2016 and drove winners of more than $2.78 million in purse earnings, appeared in three of the qualifiers. He is slated to drive a pair of Carmen Auciello-trained trotters – Cash For Gold and Free Willy Hanover – on Monday evening at Woodbine Racetrack.
It was a longer stretch of inactivity – more than six years, in fact - on the WEG circuit for trainer Duane Marfisi, who qualified Australian import Our Sky Major N.
Marfisi, who has campaigned a number of stakes stars during his years of racing on Canadian soil, recently returned to the Great White North after a lengthy stint in New Zealand.
Another familiar face returning from a lengthy absence was 2012 Maple Leaf Trot winner, Mister Herbie.
The nine-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie-Independent Lassie was second in his qualifier – his first appearance since a qualifying victory at Mohawk Racetrack on July 19, 2016. The Jeff Gillis pupil last raced in a pari-mutuel event at Mohawk on September 15, 2014.
To view results for Friday's qualifiers, click the following link: Friday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.