Queensland’s young driving talent will again be in the international spotlight tonight when Hayden Barnes and Dannielle McMullen make their Canadian driving debut at Flamboro Downs in Ontario.
Barnes and McMullen will drive stablemates in the second and third races at Flamboro for Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Carl Jamieson.
Both horses are newcomers with Barnes’ drive The Big Digger (Up The Credit – Lone Mystic) a 6-1 shot from gate four and McMullen’s drive Ninoscredit (Up The Credit – Security Banner), a 3-1 third favourite, leaving from the pole in race three.
The duo have been chaperoned in Canada during the past month by aussie Natasha Day with the usual bucket list items all ticked off including North America’s Niagra Falls and an Ice Hockey game. There’s also been qualifier drives at Mohawk but tonight’s race drives are sure to be a highlight.
Barnes who was a co-winner of last seasons Mercedes Benz Toowong “Queensland Young Achiever” award simply dispalyed “first drive (in Canada)” on his social media page today.
Both Barnes and McMullen have had several representative driving experiences over the past 12 months, representing Queensland interstate and in New Zealand. In NZ Barnes was a race winner and he also was the leading driver in the Qld Vs. Vic driving series.
Their Canadian trip, a prize awarded to further their international and overall harness racing experience was sponsored by Kevin Seymour.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing