Grand slam for Thiessen

Harness racing driver Daryl Thiessen scored four victories at Grand River Raceway on Monday (Sep. 18), capping off the grand slam with his 200th career win.

The reinsman opened his account in race two. He protected rail positioning with rookie Tamara Hanover (Artspeak), allowed a foe to go, and retook the lead on the backside. A three-wide group chased the filly around the far turn, but she sprinted away from her rivals down the lane to win by five in 1:58.1.

TAMARA HANOVER REPLAY

In race five, Thiessen pushed Mystic (Kadabra) to the lead and got him to the top before the quarter. The gelding was not headed the rest of the way, and he also ran up the score to four lengths in a 1:57.4 win.

MYSTIC REPLAY

Jewels Diamondeyes (Betterthancheddar) notched her third straight win for Thiessen in race six in a comprehensive wire-to-wire performance. The two-year-old filly dominated, winning by six lengths in 1:58.2, a new lifetime mark.

JEWELS DIAMONDEYES REPLAY

Thiessen completed the quadruple with his closest finish of the day. He rallied Runaway Heiress (Armbro Baylor) past the pacesetter from first-over, taking the lead as they entered the stretch, and the mare held on by a neck to score in 1:59.3. The win marked a double-century for Thiessen, who began driving in 2019.

RUNAWAY HEIRESS REPLAY

Thiessen is 81-for-595 this season, a 13.6 per cent win rate. He has 16 tallies in 109 tries at Grand River. It is the reinsman’s best year to date for wins, and he is on pace to break his starts record of 640 from 2020. The East Coast native began driving in Ontario in 2019 and has won 200 of his 1,705 starts.

Grand River Raceway will race next on Wednesday, Sep. 20. The first of 11 races is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink