Seaton’s shot at the big time

20 August 2026

ADAM HAMILTON | Courtesy of Harness Racing Update

JUST a few years ago Seaton Grima walked away from harness racing to focus on an apprenticeship as cabinet maker, but he’s back and chasing the world’s richest pacing race.

Grima, 23, described landing boom three-year-old Loucasso to train as “by far the greatest and most exciting opportunity” he’s had in the game.

Loucasso, who boasts seven wins and a second from just nine starts, is clear favourite for the $A1.5 million TAB Eureka in its new November 21 time slot at Club Menangle.

“I had to pinch myself when they asked me to train him, I’ll be honest,” Grima said. “He’s the first headline horse I’ve had to train, the sort of horse you dream of getting.

“To get this opportunity at my age is just incredible. I’m so grateful to Jamie (Durnberger-Smith of Summit Bloodstock) and Aaron (Bain of Aaron Bain Racing).”

Grima won the high-profile owners around when he transformed another pacer they own, No Notthebuttons, to win five of his first seven starts for the stable and finish second in the other two.

“They made no secret of the fact they were rewarding me for the job I’d done with him,” Grima said. “I thought it was a buzz to get a chance with a horse like No Notthebuttons, who I’d been keen on getting for a while, but Loucasso is next level.”

While Loucasso made headlines on the track last season at two, it’s been the off track drama where he’s sparked all the talk so far in 2026.

Powerhouse Victorian trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin trained him at two when he won the Group 1 Protostar, the APG final and the Group 2 Breeders Crown final, on his way to banking over $A400,000.

Then came some injury niggles and parting of the ways between the owners, primarily Durnberger-Smith, with Stewart and Tonkin.

Loucasso then had a brief stint with champion NSW trainer-driver Luke McCarthy before finding his way to Grima.

He is poised to have his first race since winning December 13, last year (when he won the Breeders Crown final by 25 metres), at Menangle on Tuesday.

A sparkling workout at Menangle last Friday followed by a low-key Newcastle trial on Wednesday night cemented the return.

“I wasn’t out to do it and didn’t really let him go, but he ran a 25.2sec quarter in that Menangle workout last week. That’s crazy fast,” Grima said.

“The Menangle race is a perfect kick-off race. It’ll be a huge drop in class from what he’s been racing. It’s a race for non-winning three-year-olds. It’s more like a glorified trial.”

Grima is well aware of all the speculation about Loucasso’s injuries.

“All I can say is, I had him scanned a couple of weeks back and the vet said he’s spot on and to keep doing what I’m doing,” he said.

“The TAB Eureka is the aim, but he’s come up so well, we’ll have a go at the NSW 3YO Breeders Challenge as part of his build-up.

“If next week goes well, there’s a heat and final series at Menangle for his class on September 12 and 19. Then the first heats of the Breeders Challenge are 10 days after that final.

“It’ll all help get him a great foundation into the TAB Eureka.”

Such is the hype and excitement around Loucasso, he is a $3 (for $1 bet) favourite even this far out for the TAB Eureka.

It’s the sort of thing Grima, who boasts 200 training wins and 288 as a driver, dreamt about when he first started to think seriously about a career in harness racing.

“Even though I’d been around horses for a long time, it was only during the later years of my (cabinet maker) apprenticeship, I really missed the horses and wanted to give it a proper go,” he said.

“Horses aren’t in the family. I grew up at the family farm and we just happened to live next door to (trainers) Simon and Grant Ellul. Grant was about 10 years older than me and I’d go and help them.

“It went from there to driving mini trotters and they taught me so much, including how to break in horses.

“I left school at 14 but it wasn’t until I was about 16 when I met (trainer) Joe Conolly through a mutual friend and started going to the races with him and helping him work the horses and driving track work.

“It was Joe who suggested I get my driver’s licence when I was 18.

“I got a retired horse from Newcastle trainer Nathan Flaherty called All About Art to use to get the trial drives I needed.

“The horse thrived so well with Joe (Conolly) and I, we asked Nathan if we could race him and he said: ‘he’s all yours, go for it.’ He gave me my first win as a driver and did a good job for us.”

Despite that, Grima then stepped away from the sport to focus on finishing his apprenticeship and setting up a kitchen-making business.

“I just missed it too much,” he said. I went back to helping Joe and things started to happen pretty quickly.

“Tony Licastro (owner of star pacer Don Hugo), who is friends with my uncles, sent me a horse called Our Sequel to train with Joe and then Matt Leppard (punter and Victoria-based owner) rang me out of the blue and sent me Always Rockin and Jimmy Locke.

“From there I got my own licence (to train) at 18. I went from training four or five at Joe’s to 10-12 of my own out of Mum (Virginia) and Dad’s (David) property here in Llandilo where I still am now, but have grown to 25 or 30 in work.

“I’ve had lots of support from many people, but wouldn’t be training horses without all the support of Mum and Dad to use this place.

“We’re close to Penrith and less than an hour from Menangle.

“We’re busy because it’s just myself and my partner, Chelsea Prothero, who also works full-time as a hotel manager. She’s a massive help with the horses.”

Grima said Licastro gave him his first “breakthrough” horse a few years back in Don Lou and another high-profile owner, Mick Harvey, followed with former star mare My Moonlite Dream.

“They were the horses who took me from winning races at Penrith and Newcastle, to being a factor at Menangle. Don Lou won a Goulburn Cup and about five in a row at Menangle at one stage, while My Moonlite Dream ran second in two heats of the (2024) Inter Dominion and made the final.”

More recently, much-travelled pacer Helluva took Grima to the iconic Hunter Cup at Melton in February and ran a slashing fifth behind champions Swayzee and Leap To Fame.

“At that time, I had Helluva, a lovely mare called Joans Rising Star and another nice mare and thought I was going to have a great hand at the Brisbane Inter Dominion Carnival, but then one-by-one I sold them all to the USA,” he said.

“I owned all or a big part of them and at this stage of my career, to sell them and get some money behind me was really important.

“But I’ll admit it was frustrating being back home and watching all those big races.

“Then I got the call to train Loucasso and I thought to myself, now I’ve got a horse who can not only take me to those really big races, but he’s good enough to maybe win some of them.”

When Durnberger-Smith and Bain sent Loucasso to Grima, former brilliant but injury-plagued filly Miss Australiana joined him.

“It’s great to get her, too,” he said. “She’s had plenty of problems, but seems good at the moment and I’m looking at the Vicbred 4YO mares’ series with her in Victoria in the next couple of weeks.”

But it’s Loucasso, the TAB Eureka and beyond which most excites Grima.

Loucasso pictured winning the Protostar. PHOTO BY DAN COSTELLO