If there's a driver with the target on his back heading into the 2018 National Driving Championship, it would be the driver that's represented Canada in the World Driving Championship before, the driver with the best knowledge of the horses competing at Grand River Raceway and the one with the most experience at the Elora, Ont. half-mile oval.
And one driver, Trevor Henry, checks all those boxes.
Henry, who represented Canada in the 2013 World Driving Championship in France, will compete in his third National Driving Championship after an eighth-place finish behind Jody Jamieson in 2011 and a runner-up finish behind eventual world champion James MacDonald in 2016. He punched his ticket to the 2018 National Driving Championship after winning the Ontario Regional Driving Championship this past May at The Raceway at The Western Fair District.
Greg Blanchard (left) and Mark Horner (centre) present Trevor Henry with the 2018 Ontario Regional Driving Championship trophy
Hailing from Arthur, Ont., Henry made his name competing at Ontario's half-mile tracks like Western Fair and Grand River before making his mark onthe WEG circuit and establishing himself as not just one of the province's best pilots, but one of the country's best and a driver in demand from harness racing's top stables. He currently ranks within the top 10 in the nation in both wins (178, eighth) and earnings ($3.56 million, third).
If there's a hometown favourite on September 26 at Grand River, it will likely be Henry, whose brown and gold family colours are extremely familiar to the faithful Wellington County fanbase. In fact, Henry's first win came at Elmira Raceway, Grand River's predecessor, and he has captured multiple driving titles at both Elmira and Grand River padding his 6,500-plus lifetime wins along with nearly $55 million in purses.
After competing in France in 2013, Henry would gladly don the red and white driving colours again to represent his country in Sweden in 2019.
"It would be a lot of fun. I enjoyed it the last time. I'd rather go to Sweden than France...they have a lot of nice horses and good trainers there. It would be interesting to see."
Henry would also relish the opportunity to take in the sights in a new country and also visit one of his former pupils as he sold trotting filly Wanaka to Swedish interests a few years ago.
Are the stars aligned for Trevor Henry to represent his country again? Find out as Henry faces off against seven of Canada's best in the 2018 National Driving Championship.