Queen holds the cards for harness newcomer in Trot Slot Sweepstake

Harnesslink Insider subscriber and born-again harness racing enthusiast, Glenn Donavan, has a shot at winning $50,000 with the Brent Lilley-trained Queen Elida carrying his TAB Trot Slot Sweepstake dream.

Donavan secured a sweepstake ticket as one of 30 Harnesslink Insider subscribers, but courtesy of a typo in the spelling of his surname, wasn’t sure whether in fact he was among the prizewinners.

Upon emailing the Harnesslink team and confirming in fact it was he, his attention quickly switched to last Thursday’s Trackside coverage unveiling the winning sweepstake ticket holders!

“I actually opened my Insider email and you had sent one out with the list of subscribers who had been drawn and once it was confirmed to be me, I thought I better check in on the sweepstake draw that Cambridge had on the Thursday night on Trackside,” said Donavan.

“I glanced at the numbers and couldn’t see my number and had another look a split second later and could see it. I’ve been blessed with a bit of beginners luck,” he laughed.

Donavan admits to only recently having turned his attention back to the sport of harness racing having beena  fairly serious student of the punting side of (mostly thoroughbreds) in his younger years, but as he set about raising his family, lost contact with horse racing and stumbled upon it by chance some eight months ago.

“I just happened to be flicking through the broadcast of Trackside last year and stumbled upon a harness meeting. It was quite refreshing to watch and I soon found myself taking a more active interest in the code and consuming information however I could. Between your website, newsletter, HRNZ website and The Box Seat, I find it really informative, particularly for someone like myself who doesn’t have that sort of inside knowledge,” he said.

As a self confessed student of the punt, Donavan vividly recalls his first ever wager being a success at one of the Taranaki harness racing staples of the calendar.

“When you hear about people getting bitten by the bug, interestingly the first race meeting I remember going too were the Hawera Trots at Easter time when i was young. My Dad was a secretary for a couple of Thoroughbred clubs but took me along to the trots one day and I remember having my first bet as a young fella and it was a winner. The bug bit firmly after that in terms of horse racing,” he said.

When asked about the appeal of the industry given he has no family background in harness or much friends and family taking an active interest, Donavan pointed to three points in particular that he believed gave harness racing an edge for his entertainment and punting dollar.

“I remember my father telling me trotters are a much better investment and that they are more consistent and tend to hold their form better. That stuck with me. And I have noticed that as I have come back to the sport and watching more of it is the fact that you can race a lot more, and I think there is something really appealing about that as a punter.

“With a galloper you kind of wait for it to get into form but that seems to peak at around a few starts or a month and then you have to wait for it to come back into form. The Standardbreds racing more frequently makes me feel like I can get into the form in a more involved way.

“The second thing is the surface the harness horses race on. I’m a big believer in horses for courses in the other code, and bad weather can impact the all weather surfaces too at the extreme end, but I think you get a better consistency in harness and that helps with confidence too.

“You cant help but having favourites. I really love watching young Carter Dalgety for the sole reason is that for a junior driver, he uses a lot of initiative in a race. In both codes there are drivers and jockeys who seem to just be dictated too a lot, and then you have those who take the race by the scruff of the neck. Blair Orange is another who comes to mind and I love to see it. 

“Another thing I am trying to get my head around is mapping the races. I feel that tactics wise there is a lot more moves in a longer race and interesting ways they can unfold and from a punting perspective it makes it enjoyable too,” he said.

Unlike fellow Taranaki winner of the Harnesslink giveaway, Costa Ellis, the Wellington based Donavan will be watching Friday’s $600,000 affair from the comfort of his surrounds at home.

While he isnt completely familiar with the exposed form of the Australian runners, ever the student, the communications graduate and former PR and government media spokesperson has been researching the chances of his charge and understands ‘the queen’ may have her work cut out for her.

“Because of my relative inexperience I have a bit of work to do to try and work out what my realistic chances are. I had a few horses in my mind I would have liked and while she wasn’t at the top of my wish list, I know enough about her to realise she isn’t without her chance. I cant see her holding the lead, but if she could hold the trail she could easily sneak into the money,” he said.

Win lose or draw, Donavan will at worst walk away with $3000 and undoubtedly an even stronger attachment to the sport he is once again learning to love. He was very complimentary of the slot racing concept and appreciative of the coverage he was able to enjoy in the lead up to the Night of Champions at Cambridge Raceway.

“Its a great promotion and even when i was watching the draw I couldn’t help but feel like the coverage and concept of the slot races is exactly what racing needs. I can remember what it was like in the 80’s and it’s obviously lost some of its lustre, but its great to see people fighting to get it back onto the pedestal that it deserves. This type of race and the more you share the stories around everyone involved, the more broad your reach will become,” he said.

For complete Cambridge fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink