Edinburgh's new reserve continues to earn rave reviews for his performances in Australia. If he adapts to British conditions he could turn out to be a real star of the future.
Christian is eighteen years old and does not require a work permit because of his family connections in Britain. He has, in fact, a grandmother living in Edinburgh! To qualify for a work permit, Australian riders normally have to reach a certain standard in their national championships. This would entail an assessed Premier League average of nine points. Christian is able to come in on three points.
Several other Australians have used this route. Darren Groves, who joined Workington last year plus Lee Hearne (Newport) and Adrian Newman (Isle of Wight) have all been able to come in to the Premier League on three point assessed averages. By contrast their fellow countrymen without British patriality or residence have had to come into the Elite League on five point assessed averages (Jason Hawkes, Kevin Doolan, and Travis McGowan) or into the Premier League on nine-point averages (Craig Watson, Brett Woodifield, Nigel Sadler) over the past years or so.
Internet correspondant Brett Garrigan reported on Christian Henry's recent second place in the Lockyer Valley Masters event as follows:
"Christian Henry showed superb form in finishing a very creditable 2nd in Round 3 of the Lockyer Valley Masters at Gatton Speedway last night. Henry missed the gate at just about every attempt (not a regular occurrence for this bright prospect) but proceeded to reel the other riders with explosive outside and inside passes over his opponents. Christian was in red hot form and remained undefeated in the heats prior to entering the Final. Watching him in action brought back many fond memories of watching Mark Loram in action during the 1999 GP Series".
"Edinburgh Monarchs fans are in for a treat when this 18 year-old lands on their door-step in a few months time".
The meeting was won by Scott Smith, not to be confused with his Berwick bound namesake. The track required a lot of watering in the very hot conditions and slickened off towards the end.
Maybe, just maybe, Edinburgh have another Ross Brady on their hands!
Given that Christian has a genuine Scottish granny, this makes him eligible for the Scottish team. Mick Powell was selected for the team in 1999 on the same basis.