Michael Guerin: Pacing Priest prays for help before Inter Dominion Final

COMMENT:

The owner of a horse in tomorrow night's $500,000 Inter Dominion Pacing Final has gone to his boss for help in an unusual case of insider trading.

But Father Brian Glasheen knows even the big man upstairs might not be able to get Triple Eight home first in the biggest race of his career.

Glasheen is a Catholic priest from Victoria who first went to the Inter Dominions, the annual harness racing clash of the best in Australasia, 69 years ago.

He has been so many times since he long ago earned the nickname the Pacing Priest because of his love for the harness racing industry, which many people call The Trots.

One of his duties at every Inter Dominion carnival is to bless the colours to be worn by the horses in the Grand Final, not so much for racing luck but asking that all the horses and drivers get around safely.

Many of the harness racing trainers and drivers aren't even Catholic but most are superstitious when it comes to racing luck so there were plenty of racing colours getting the splash of holy water at the barrier draw last Sunday.

But as much as the Pacing Priest blesses all in the harness racing flock, he saved a special prayer for one finalist at tomorrow night's mega meeting at Alexandra Park.

Because Glasheen, a man who has the demeanour of that favourite uncle you see only once a year, has been gifted a share in Triple Eight.

Some friends from Victoria bought into the South Auckland pacer earlier this year and he has now ended up in the sport's most celebrated race.

So Glasheen admits he will be calling on "the boss" for a bit of racing luck.

"I don't like to look upon it as insider trading," he says matter-of-factly.

"After all, anybody can pray and ask for anything if they believe in doing so. But yes, I will have a word on Saturday afternoon to see if we can get some help," he laughs.

The Pacing Priest doesn't discriminate. He has blessed all sorts of horses and horsepeople, including galloping greats like Northerly, the West Australian champion who had such memorable clashes with freakish New Zealand mare Sunline

He is close friends with Fred and Judy Kersley, who trained the dual Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup.

"I got to know the Kersley's really well through great friends of mine.

"Fred came to me in the media room at Moonee Valley one night and asked if I'd bless Northerly at Flemington the next Saturday.

"I did and he went out and thrashed a really good field in record time in the Australian Cup after being three-wide most of the race. It was the start of Northerly's greatness.

"I blessed him again before his first Cox Plate but when it came to the second Cox Plate, you wouldn't believe it, but I had two weddings on that day.

"So Fred and Judy asked me to go out to Caulfield the day before the race and bless Northerly there. I did the weddings on the day he won and then joined them at the after party."

Rated $101 chance with the TAB for tomorrow's race, Triple Eight might need more help than the Pacing Priest can dial up. But it can't hurt.