Western Fair Raceway's leading driver of 2006, 2008 and 2009, Brad Forward, made a slightly humourous admission in a trackside interview
on Saturday evening at Hanover. He's dealing with an unintended consequence from his May sojourn to the World Driving Championship.
"I know our hosts in Norway had the red carpet out and were offering us their best," said Forward. "During my time in Norway I didn't recognize much of the food. I was stuffing myself every day there with the things I did know, chocolate bars and bread. When I got back to Canada on May 22 I was a little overweight. But seeing that part of the world and all the new friends I made, it was definitely worth it. I'm back to driving 6-7 days a week. I don't think I'll be long getting back to my usual weight."
Forward's temporary weight issue can't be very serious as his stature could be mistaken for that of a jockey. His Saturday night win in Hanover was with Champale Blue Chip in an OSS event, less than 24 hours after his runner-up finish in the Molson Pace with Lucky Man and victory in the OSS three year filly pace Gold Series Final with Not Enough.
Those two finishes helped Forward become the first driver to surpass $800,000 in purse earnings in 2009 at the London track. He sits atop the driver standings with 112 wins for a solid lead over Doug McNair, Bruce Richardson, Dave Wall and Alfie Carroll.
June at The Fair: Final Month This Meet
The final month of the current meet at Western Fair will be dominated by the 2009 City Of London Series.
The marquee performer of Monday's opening round in the colt and gelding pace division is Greystone Cash in the third race. The exceptional three year old gelding is owned by London's Patrick Ryan and trained by Bruce Goit after a private purchase last month from breeders Jean and Jim Caddey of Embro, ON.
All four championship finals of the Series will be contested on Friday, June 19th. The Slots Cup Series and the OSS Grassroots Series also highlight the June calendar at Western Fair.
Through June 30, post time each Monday and Tuesday is at 3:35 p.m. and every Friday evening at Western Fair. The usual Summer hiatus will be followed by the Fall Meet commencing on October 2.
(Western Fair Raceway)