Southern boy to drive in The Race by Grins

Former Southland Boy’s High School student Adam Sanderson who’s now carving out a successful harness racing career in Brisbane, heads back to New Zealand next week to drive Speak The Truth (Bettor’s Delight) in New Zealand’s richest race, the $1,000,000 The Race By Grins at Cambridge.

Sanderson attended Southland Boys High School in Invercargill in the early 2000s. On leaving school he worked for Branxholme trainer Kirk Larsen and later for Ascot Park trainer Wayne Adams.

Sanderson drove sixty seven winners in New Zealand as a junior. He was the leading Southland Junior driver in 2012 with forty wins and he finished fourth in the New Zealand Junior Drivers Premiership won by Zachery Butcher.

He moved to Australia in 2012 chasing the warmer weather.

Thirty four year old Sanderson has driven over 1,000 winners in Australia. He drives full time from Tuesdays to Saturdays primarily for Alberton trainer Shannon Price and her training partner Scotty Miller. When not driving he breaks in young horses for Grant Dixon and Shane Graham.

Speak The Truth is a lightly raced gelding which in just twenty nine starts has had sixteen wins and eight placings and earned $562,702 in stakes.

“He missed the majority of his three year old season and it probably set him back. He missed all that hard racing in the Derbys but he’s making up for it now,” Sanderson said.

His biggest win to date was in the $100,000 G2 Cordina Group Sprint at Menangle which he won in 1-48.8.

It’s not the first time Sanderson has driven a million dollar race as he also drove Speak The Truth to run third in last month’s Miracle Mile and they took out a fifth placing in the $1,970,000 TAB Eureka at Menangle.

“It was probably one of his worst runs (the Eureka). He’d come to the end of his prep. I was disappointed, I thought he should have run third.”

A trial at Albion Park on Tuesday against three rivals furthered his preparation for The Race by Grins. Speak The Truth won by 13.8 metres, running the 1660 metres in 1-57.0 (mile rate of 1-53.5) and the 800 in 54.3.

“He trialed good and did what he had to. He just ran a nice mile and ripped the last half. He did it comfortably and had a nice blowout before the big dance. He never looks flashy and only does what he has to but it was probably as good as he’s ever trialed so I was more than happy with him.”

He added “It’ll be handy if we can draw closer to the fence which would make my job easier. It’s not the be all and end all. He’s proven he can put himself in the race, do a bit of work and still be there fighting it out.”

Once through The Race by Grins, Speak The Truth will go to Auckland for the G1 $110,000 Taylor Mile at Alexandra Park on 26^th April and the G1 New Zealand Messenger a week later.

“I’ll be over for both. It’ll take a lot to get me out of that seat.”

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink