‘On The Road’ To Success

Fresh off a near perfect three-year-old campaign in Alberta which resulted in ASHA Award nominations for him, his trainer and his groom, Sixdaysontheroad is looking to make it big on the WEG circuit

and so far the son of Allamerican Native-Resume Speed has racked up three straight wins.

Ron Graham trained and drove Sixdaysontheroad to eight (consecutive) wins in nine starts during his sophomore campaign as he climbed up to the Open ranks at the Grande Prairie half-miler.

“When I trained him down as a three-year-old, I guess I trained him the old fashioned way - that means going lots of slow miles, the way they used to train horses years ago – so when he was ready to qualify, he was very ready,” remembers Ron. “He trained maybe three or four or five seconds faster than he had to in the qualifier so then he just danced through all the classes in Grande Prairie.

“We just had one little bump in the road,” continued Ron. “He had two stakes back here in Edmonton in December and three days before the stake, I went to train him a little bit and he was after popping a splint and it buggered us up out of both stake races. I did race him in one final and he did finish third, but he certainly wasn’t himself. That was unfortunate because I was looking forward to those two stake races in his own backyard and never got to showcase him. Anyway, that’s the way harness racing goes.”

Sixdaysontheroad is up against rivals Cardiff Hanover and Shouldabeensam for the Alberta Three-Year-Old Colt of the Year award. The winner will be announced Saturday, January 30 at the annual ASHA Awards banquet.

“He 100 percent deserves to be nominated. He sure earned it, he’s a really nice colt and he does nothing wrong,” said Ron’s daughter, Katie. “You just have to look at his card and you can tell.”

Not only is Sixdaysontheroad up for an award this Saturday, both Ron and Katie are the among the finalists in the people categories. Ron is in the running for trainer of the year under 200 starts, while Katie is a finalist in the caretaker of the year category.

"Actually I was a little shocked that I was picked because I didn't know that people noticed my hard work. Well, my dad tells me I work hard!" laughs Katie. "I'm pretty excited that I'm an up for an award, it always feels great to get recognized."

The recognition comes on heels of Ron Graham's career year as a trainer, with 29 wins in 103 starts and an enviable UTRS of 0.450.

"I think my dad's dedication and commitment to his horses is what makes him a top horseman," continued Katie. "He can deal with any situation - he's an amazing trainer and an even greater driver. He's one of a kind and that's why he is so respected by many, including me."

Late last year, Walter Moroz and Willie Wychopen decided to ship Graham's prized pupil east to Ontario.

“The racing was over here and there wasn’t going to be any until February the 5th and then we only have a short meet here in Edmonton so it was the absolute best thing to do to send [Sixdaysontheroad] to Ontario,” said Ron.

“If he keeps doing well why take him back here? I’d love to have the colt again but he’s going to make much more money down there so that’s the place to be. If he can do in the big league – I call it the big league – that would be the place for him and I’d be glad to see it.”

Sixdaysontheroad earned his third straight win at Woodbine Racetrack last Saturday, January 23 and took a new mark of 1:50.4 in the process with Paul MacDonell in the bike.

"This horse could turn into something special, he's got a world of speed and has no trouble carrying it,” MacDonell told Trot Insider. “He's currently prepping for the Cam Fella Series [in March], and that will give us a gauge on what kind of horse he will be going forward. I am confident that he will be an upper class horse on this circuit [WEG] soon."

After showing speed early on in his career over a half-mile track, Ron says he wasn’t surprised by Sixdaysontheroad’s immediate success at Woodbine.

“No, I’m not surprised, but on the other hand, when you go from the smaller league to the big league you have to sometimes wait and see. But he’s with a top trainer and friend of mine, Gord Remmen, in Ontario and I have the utmost respect for Gordy. He will train him exactly like I did and by saying that I mean he doesn’t train his horses tough once they’re race ready. He doesn’t train them tough between races and I think he’ll get the best and the most out of Sixdaysontheroad.”

“After being with him all the time, it's different in the barn now that he’s gone,” added Katie, “but I’m happy he went to Gordy.”

“And Wally Moroz is just a prince of a man,” said Ron. “I train some other horses for him and he’s just a great guy for the business so I hope he’ll reap a little bit of benefit now.”