Seaton Grima on fire at Newcastle with treble

Penrith based trainer driver Seaton Grima had one of his best evenings in harness racing when he scored a winning treble and two seconds at Newcastle on Friday night.

Grima might have been disappointed when Ocean Avenue went down by half a neck in the opening race behind Longwindingroad (Alwaysavirgin).

However in the next event the Mates4Harness pace he quickly made amends when his smart pacer Luke John (Mach Three CA) led all the way to score a comprehensive win over Matt Gregors Boy and Sheza Rebel.

Despite being caught wide early Luke John showed enough speed to eventually take the lead.  Matt Gregors Boy momentarily looked a threat on straightening but Luke John fought back well to prevail.

Grima stated “He can be a bit lazy. He ran 1.53 for me at Penrith. And he’s pretty versatile as he’s a good leader and he can come from behind. It was good that he drew the front tonight as he’s been racing without luck.”

Raced by Mick Harvey Luke John is likely to be nominated for next Saturday night at Menangle Park.

STORMY WOODS APR 4 REPLAY

In the very next event the Barastoc Pace, Grima notched a double when the speedy three year old Stormy Woods (The Storm Inside) simply ran his rivals off their legs to score a decisive win over stable mate Tomahawk Bart and Betterthanfederer.

Similar to the previous event Stormy Woods had to work early but once in front he was given a breather by Grima after running his first quarter of 27.5 seconds. However he was off again in the back straight putting a space between him and his rivals. His overall mile rate was a scintillating 1.50.6.

Grima commented “I got him through Paddy Lee who had sent me up Kosimo. Steve Fennell the owner a friend of Lee asked me if I could take two horses Ocean Avenue and Stormy Woods”.

“Stormy Woods has got a great personality with good speed and he’ll get better as time goes on. Tonight he’s gone 1.50.6.”

Grima is looking to go to Queensland for the winter and it’s possible that Stormy Woods will be part of his contingent.

Grima’s treble arose with the final event when his newly arrived filly Melfield Soryt (Stay Hungry) who led all the way to win the TAB App Pace.

Melfield Soryt travelled well in the lead and was well rated by Grima. She looked to have her rivals off the bit but Shalamar Miss made a charge halfway down the straight and looked as if she might race right past Melfield Soryt but the latter showed great fight to come away to break her maiden status.

“The Victorian owners elected to send this filly up to me and were trying to chase VicBred bonuses. She finished three seconds in a row. I’ve only had her for two to three weeks. She’s got a lot of attitude and still learning a lot being very green and lightly raced.”

Grima indicated that he will press on a little more with Melfield Soryt and is quietly confident that the filly will come back better after a spell.

Grima has already achieved 109 training wins and with 197 driving wins is inching towards the 200 mark.  With 25 horses in work it shouldn’t be too long before Grima improves on his already impressive record that he has achieved with hard work and commitment.

By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink