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Canadian James MacDonald basking in limelight of world driving championship

Aug 22, 2017 | 1:45 PM

James MacDonald is still basking in the limelight of a most unlikely world championship.

The 31-year-old Charlottetown native clinched the 2017 world driving championship in his hometown Friday night. MacDonald replaced Calgary’s Brandon Campbell as Canada’s representative in the biennial harness racing event less than three weeks earlier after Campbell was involved in a positive drug test.

“Honestly, it hasn’t really sunk in,” MacDonald said during a telephone interview. “I can’t really grasp it . . . I haven’t really had time to really think about it and enjoy it.

“Obviously it’s a big accomplishment. I’m really proud of it but I know I still need to get better, I still need to keep working hard if I want to be one of the best.”

Campbell, 33, was fined $4,000 and suspended through Jan. 31, 2018 by Standardbred Canada on Aug. 1 after Ima Dude, a horse he trained, tested positive for ephedrine and pyrilamine and associated metabolites.

Standardbred Canada named MacDonald as Campbell’s replacement after he finished second to Campbell in qualifying. MacDonald, now living in Guelph, Ont., took full advantage, becoming the first Canadian to capture the world crown on home turf.

“I never expected it,” MacDonald said. “I ended up second in the national (standings) and while I was disappointed, I’d kind of accepted it and that was that.

“When they called me and said they needed me to fill in, it was a no-brainer. Obviously I would’ve loved to earn my way to the worlds . . . I don’t want to see anything like that happen to anyone but when they asked me to fill in, it was an easy decision.”

MacDonald hasn’t had the luxury of time to fully comprehend what he’s done. Early the morning after winning the title he flew back to Toronto to race on that night’s card at nearby Mohawk Racetrack.

Then on Sunday it was off to Quebec for an event there before returning to Guelph for more racing Monday night at Mohawk.

“Busy is good in this business,” MacDonald said. “I’m not going to complain about being busy.”

The world driving event was held at five different tracks in four provinces from Aug. 12-18. Eleven competitors from 10 countries — New Zealand had two entrants as Dexter Dunn was the defending champion — competed in 22 races, earning points based upon their final position.

MacDonald accumulated the most points to earn the world championship and $25,000 top prize. He became the fifth Canadian to capture the honour but first since 2011 when Jody Jamieson of Moffat, Ont., won his second tournament crown.

“There wasn’t one thing that was similar to what I’m used to,” MacDonald said. “It took me completely out of my element and I had to try and adapt quickly to more of a European kind of racing.

“Luckily I knew many of the horses and had driven them before and I’d raced at all of the tracks so I kind of knew the dos and don’ts. I definitely had an advantage but it was a completely different racing style than anything I’ve ever seen before.”

Thanks mostly to the international field of drivers.

“The North American style is an aggressive style of racing,” he said. “Everyone kind of guns out of the gate, then we take a little breather and then kind of race hard.

“The European style is much more patient. They all kind of float out and sit two, three wide the whole mile. There’s a lot of action but there’s also a lot of waiting.”

Another difference was racing in very close quarters with 11-horse fields. Some races in North America go with eight or nine horses, with the top events usually attracting 10.

“It was very tight racing, there wasn’t much room anywhere,” MacDonald said. “When you’re racing eight, nine, 10-horse fields you can usually find a way out somewhere but in these races we were jammed in tight.”

But having the home-town support at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park was huge.

“The reception I got in P.E.I was something I’ll never experience probably again in my life, it was absolutely insane,” he said. “It put more pressure on me, for sure, but I knew if I could get myself in the hunt going there I’d have the whole province and the whole country on my side.”

MacDonald will defend his global crown in 2019, which should give him enough time to get used to the idea of being a world champion.

“I haven’t given it (defending title) much thought but I’m really excited,” he said. “I’ve travelled the U.S. to race quite a bit but never ventured outside of North America.

“That will be a big change but I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.”

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press