Three-year-old trotting colts and geldings will be the stars of Grand River Raceway’s opening night this Wednesday (June 5), as four $22,800 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions will be contested during the 10-race program.
Trainer-driver Dagfin Henriksen will send The Great Farini after a share of the purse in the third division (Race 4), and the Guelph, Ont. resident is hoping the colt extends the consistent run that has seen him finish in the top three in seven of his 10 lifetime starts.
“He never raced last year; he grew so much we just turned him out. He came around this year real nice and he developed into a fairly nice racehorse,” said Henriksen, who shares ownership of The Great Farini with Barry McClennan of Cavan, Ont. “He’s been pretty much on the board almost every start and he’s getting better and learning. He just started out this year, but he’s starting to get the hang of it I think.”
The colt is heading into Wednesday’s test looking to atone for an early miscue in the City of London Trotting Series final at The Raceway at Western Fair District on May 31, where he was sent off as the favourite after an impressive runner-up effort from the outside Post 7 in his May 24 elimination. That result was the second consecutive race in which The Great Farini had demonstrated an ability to hustle off the starting gate from an outside post. The colt will have to put that skill to work again on Wednesday, as he is set to start from Post 8.
“Sometimes you draw better, sometimes you draw worse,” said the pragmatic Henriksen. “He can leave [well] and get off the gate, so I think he’ll be able to get a good position in the race.”
Henriksen expects to make regular trips to the popular Elora, Ont. oval this summer from his base at the First Line Training Centre outside of Guelph. The native of Norway is currently training 16 horses, including a group of two- and three-year-olds he hopes to race in the Ontario Sires Stakes program.
“I like racing at Grand River, it’s a nice track,” said Henriksen. “And some horses can’t go on the ‘A’ track, they just can’t handle the bigger track and you bring them to the small tracks, and Grand River is definitely a good option for me because it’s not far away.”
The Great Farini and his peers will show off their skills in Race 1, 2, 4 and 7 on Wednesday night. The first division will face the starter at 6:30 p.m.
A complete program for Wednesday’s opening night is available here and fans unable to get to Grand River Raceway can watch the trotters compete here.
In addition to Wednesday’s opening night event, Grand River Raceway will also host three additional Grassroots events and four Gold Series Legs this season.
To view the harness racing entries for Wednesday at Grand River, click the following link: Wednesday Entries – Grand River Raceway.
(With files from the OSS)