Top West Coast trainer reaches 1,000 wins

Rod Therres added a major milestone to a superb harness racing season as he earned his 1,000th training victory in a three-win day at Fraser Downs on Thursday (Sep. 19).

Therres, who entered the day on 999 wins, got the job done in the opener. He took the lines behind his filly Heavens Lil Dragon (Custard The Dragon), coming off a debut victory. The two-year-old tucked in third before a second-quarter brush, and she hung on over the closing Crunch N Munch (John Abbott) down the stretch to win by a neck in 1:59.

HEAVENS LIL DRAGON REPLAY

Therres, who is clicking at a 31.4 per cent clip this season, co-owns the filly with Ralph Therres, KFC Farms, and Dairen Edwards.

The trainer immediately set out on the road to 2,000, winning two more on the evening. He went back-to-back in the second with unbeaten freshman Fubar Bundy (All Bets Off) in a dominant win, then won the eighth with veteran mare Rollin Withholly A (Roll With Joe) for her third straight win.

Therres, a trainer for more than three decades, has racked up earnings exceeding $6.4 million in 4,914 starts. He has been one of the highest-percentage trainers in Western Canada over the past several years, surpassing the 20 per cent mark every season since 2022. He is also 16-for-76 this year as a driver, teaming many of his own horses.

Grey Sea (Custard The Dragon, John Abbott) won the night’s Fillies and Mares Preferred. The Gordon Abbott-trained mare made it back-to-back top class victories in a front-stepping 1:53.2 performance. B On The Hunt (Scott Knight) closed down the leader from the pocket and was a half-length short. Arrhythmic Dream (Phil Giesbrecht) was a tough third, gaining ground on the end of a first-over trip.

GREY SEA REPLAY

Grey Sea, a Seaspray Stables homebred, is now 19-for-50 lifetime with $154,650 in earnings. She has won five of her 23 outings this season.

Fraser Downs is set to hold its next card on Friday, Sep. 20 with a 7:00 p.m. PDT first post.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink