Trot Insider has been informed that trainer Harald Lunde, who is well known in the Ontario harness racing industry for his expertise with elite trotting talent, has passed away at the age of 72.

Lunde, who regularly campaigned two and three-year-old trotters in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, was best known to the North American industry for his campaigning of Rotation, who was part-owned by Toronto Maple Leafs great Mats Sundin.

Rotation 4,1:52.3 ($1,478,290) won his OSS Super Final as a three-year-old in 2002 before finding further success in the aged ranks. The son of Balanced Image, who was a $40,000 yearling purchase, won his $215,000 division of the American National in 2003, and hauled down major scores in the $450,000 Nat Ray and $851,500 Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk Racetrack later that year.

Lunde had earlier found success with Balanced Image bay Banker Hall 3,1:55.2s ($1,026,624), who, as a two-year-old, won a division of the Champlain before recording further major scores in his OSS Super Final and the Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Colt Trot final. He didn't find quite as much sucees at three, but did manage to win the Colonial Trot and the final of the Yonkers Trot.

Rotation and Banker Hall were each honoured with O'Brien Awards while under Lunde's watch.

Birminghim 2,1:57.1s ($791,084) was another Ontario-sired performer that responded well to Lunde's tutelage, as the brown daughter of Striking Sahbra was a tough customer in the provincial program.

Lunde is a native of Lademoen, Norway, an area just outside of Trondheim. He eventually made his way to the United States and then Canada. While in North America, he relished wintering in Florida, where he prepped his younger horses for the forthcoming campaigns of racing.

Lunde had resided in Trondheim in recent years.

Trot Insider will update this notice with more information when it becomes available.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Harald Lunde.

(With files from tgn.no)