Grimson set for historic first drive on New Zealand soil

The Aussie harness racing raid starts at Ashburton on Monday.

And it could give New Zealanders a chance to see a different side of dual NZ Cup-winning horseman Jason Grimson.

Classy 3YO fillies Ripples (Bettor’s Delight) and The Queens Gambit (Captain Crunch), both owned in New South Wales by Mick Harvey, will tackle Heat 7 of the $30,000 Nevele R Series (5.15pm).

They will be on the quick back-up from hard unplaced runs in the Group 1 Victoria Oaks final at Melton last Saturday night.

Although Kiwi superstar Blair Orange is set to drive the Luke McCarthy-trained Ripples, Grimson himself is set to take the reins on The Queens Gambit. It will be his first drive in this country.

Grimson first moved from the NSW Riverina to Menangle with the view of becoming a freelance driver but quickly morphed into a stunning training force.

It was the Brisbane winter carnival this year when we really started to see Grimson return to driving a lot more and he has continued since.

Grimson has driven 319 career wins with 39 of them coming from just 133 drives this season.

In contrast, he had just 21 drives last season for one win and five placings.

Although Cam Hart remains his number one stable driver, Grimson drives plenty of his own horses now.

Just last Saturday night Hart won the Victoria Cup on wonder mare Captains Mistress, while Grimson drove emerging stablemate Our Sunset Delight into third place.

Both Ripples (gate two) and The Queens Gambit (four) have terrific gate speed and will be major players from their nice draws at Ashburton.

Before finishing seventh and last respectively from wide draws in the Victoria Oaks, they were both placed in heats of the Oaks at Melton.

It will be a busy few days for Grimson with Captains Mistress and Minos due to fly to NZ on Sunday ahead of the Kaikoura Cup on Monday, November 2.

And dual NZ Cup winner Swayzee is the favourite to win a free-for-all at Menangle on Saturday night, which shapes as a crunch race for Grimson to decide whether he returns to Addington for a third tilt at the iconic race.

Of course, another two Aussie big guns, Leap To Fame and Gus, continue their build-up to Cup Week raids when they step out at Albion Park on Saturday night.

by Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Victoria