Fr Brian Glasheen, of Victoria, has spent seven decades following Australasian harness racing’s greatest test of stamina.
Sixty-nine years after attending his first Interdominion in Sydney, Glasheen’s loyalty to the sport, his friends and his Roman Catholic faith will be rewarded when his first Interdominion runner – Triple Eight — takes to Alexandra Park on Saturday night.
Glasheen will not be torn away from watching the series final, unlike at his first series, in 1950.
His father ruled he could not go back to watch the final at the Melbourne Showgrounds, even though he had been to each night of heats, for fear the young Glasheen would be crushed as the masses flocked to watch the Interdominion final.
And it seemed Glasheen would not get to see Triple Eight this year was until three of his parishioners intervened.
Just last winter, Glasheen had no connection to the pacer. In fact he had not even heard of him until fellow Victorians Shannon Nixon, Joel Watson and Shane Cook coaxed the octogenarian into going out for dinner.
There, the trio presented Glasheen with ownership papers for the horse and on Saturday night the Interdominions come full circle.
The motivation for the trio’s generosity was simple.
Nixon said they wanted to do something for the man who had done so much for them.
“Fr Glasheen has had a big part in all of our lives. He has baptised all our nine children between us.”
Triple Eight ran third behind the All Stars duo of Cruz Bromac and Thefixer to qualify for the $500,000 feature.
It set off joyous scenes across the Tasman as Nixon, Watson and Cook watched on TV.
“The biggest source of joy for us is seeing how much it means to Fr Glasheen,” Nixon said
“He is absolutely over the moon – he is messaging us five times a day – and he is just having a great time being over in New Zealand watching the horse.
“We are just getting a huge kick out of how much it means to him.”
Glasheen is popular and widely known figure in both racing codes across the Tasman.
“Everyone in harness racing in Victoria knows him. He is very widely known in racing circles in Australia,” Nixon said.
“He has followed every Interdominion around from the heady days of the sport and the Interdominion is the biggest show in harness racing, so he has met a lot of people.”
Nixon secured Watson, Cook and Glasheen shares in Triple Eight after negotiating a slice of the ownership from North Island owners Stonewall Stud and Scott Plant.
Triple Eight’s $101 odds suggest he needs divine intervention to win Saturday night’s final but with Glasheen on their side, they have a man with a proven winning touch.
Glasheen blessed Northerly, at the request of trainer Fred Kersley, before the horse’s 2001 Australian Cup win and during the galloper’s 13-win streak.
The Triple Eight camp will hope Glasheen’s touch will work again when he blesses their horse before the Interdominion Final.
His prayers have also been extended to rival camps. Glasheen also blessed the colours to be worn by drivers in both the Interdominon pacing and trotting finals when the barrier draw was made.
