Grima a name to watch

Harness racing driver Seaton Grima is a name to watch in New South Wales.

The 18-year-old reinsman has driven two winners and as many placings in his last four drives.

He now has a record of 35 wins and 37 placings since his debut season in 2018/19 and Grima is hungry for more success.

So much so, he is willing to make the eight-hour return trip from his Sydney base to Dubbo on Sunday for three drives.

“I’d go anywhere for one drive,” said Grima.

“Being a junior driver I need to make the most of my opportunities.

“The furthest I’ve been is West Wyalong so I thought why not go on a Sunday drive out to Dubbo.”

Grima was approached by trainer Michael Muscat to guide his team at Dubbo’s meeting this Sunday, on pacers Delilaah, Speed Of Sound and He Said She Said.

“Michael contacted me a few weeks ago asking if I would travel out there for drives,” said Grima.

“I’ve never driven for Michael before at the races and since he’s moved out to Bathurst he has been getting some good results.

“I think all my drives are winnable races.”

Grima landed a winner at Penrith last Thursday night onboard the Joe Conolly-trained Mister Magic Man. (Watch the replay here)

A day later, Grima ventured up to Newcastle and won on the Geoffrey Harding-trained Jasper Styles. (Watch the replay here)

“Joe and I work a team of 10 horses together and we want to keep our stable small so we can focus on each horse individually,” said Grima.

“I’ve just started my own business making kitchens and Joe works as a police officer and we share the workload with the horses.”

This training/driving partnership has been a success for Conolly who has doubled his amount of winners in his past two seasons.

“We really like to treat each horse differently,” said Grima.

“We’ve found a good balance with how we feed and our trackwork and make sure all our horses are looking well because that’s when they go their best . . . food is their petrol and you know if they look good they’re feeling good.”

By Amanda Rando for Harnesslink