Boyd raises bar with first city training win

AS far as her biggest thrill in racing goes, Ballarat jockey-trainer Lucinda Boyd has always insisted that her Flemington win aboard Ian for John Thom in 2019 would be hard to top.

But last week a new career highlight emerged with Haaland’s gutsy 2400m victory at Sandown Hillside.

The win was dual licence holder Boyd’s first metropolitan training success.

All nine of her previous training wins were on country tracks, including three at home on the Ballarat synthetic.

A special moment for Boyd and husband Anthony was made even more exceptional for two more reasons.

One, Boyd herself was in the saddle, and two, the first city training success came with a horse whose career was uncertain after he was found to be suffering atrial fibrillation, requiring surgery, following his last run for former trainer Robert Hickmott in January this year.

“To be fair, he’s lucky to be alive, let alone be winning in town,” Boyd said.

Following a months-long recovery from surgery, Haaland was sent to the Boyds for some pre-training.

In a gesture they will forever be grateful for, Hickmott never asked for the now seven-year-old gelding back.

“Rob didn’t want him going into his stable environment straight away, so he asked if we would pre-train him,” Boyd said.

“He settled in so well that we said we could get him up [for] the trials, as he’s really happy.

“Once we trialled him, Rob approached the owners and said it was best for everyone if they keep the horse with them (the Boyds) as the horse is in really good health.

“For another trainer to put their hand up and say that, you have to have a lot of respect for them.”

Haaland was quick to find form following a first-up seventh over 1500m on the Ballarat synthetic.

His next three starts produced two seconds and a third, highlighted by a second over 2550m at Flemington, leading to a high degree of confidence heading into Sandown from Boyd.

“He was definitely knocking on the door,” she said.

“He obviously went extremely well at Flemington last start, running second, but he has been showing really consistent form this prep.

“We were going there confident, but obviously the horse still has to put it all together and be able to do it.

“At Seymour, he hit the front and stargazed a bit.

“We were reluctant to put head gear on him straight away and jump him up in trip, because he’s a little bit of a rascal and doesn’t exactly love to settle in his races.

“We just had to be patient and get that run into him at 2500m at Flemington, and then obviously at Sandown we put the visors on him and that helped him a lot.

 

“Had we rushed and done that earlier, we may not have seen the same effect. They might have topped him off a bit too much.”

The win broke an 827-day drought between wins for Haaland. Only lightly raced, with 22 starts to his name, Boyd is aiming high with Haaland, targeting next year’s Adelaide Cup (3200m).

“We’ve just got to place him right and try and get his rating up,” she said.

“With his win, they have put him up five points (to 69). That helps a lot.

“We have a (benchmark 70) race picked out on Geelong Cup day (22 October) for him.

“If he could tick that off, that’ll help with the rating.

“We don’t take him to the track all the time, so he’s not trained hard, but we have had to be a bit harder on him race-wise, as in, not giving him too long in between runs.

“But he’ll get a nice three weeks in between runs.”

The win gave Boyd not only her first city win as a trainer, but ticked off another goal following her return to race riding earlier this year after pregnancy – a metro win in the saddle.

“To do all that on a nice progressive horse makes it even more satisfying,” she said.

It’s a moment she will cherish forever, like her Flemington win on Ian.

Trained by Ballarat trainer Thom, the exciting sprinter won three of four race starts, culminating in his triumph down the straight at racing headquarters.

On the back of that win, he was sold by Thom to Hong Kong interests for $500,000.

“Being a part of that was unbelievable, but I would say this one tops it all,” Boyd said.

“To be able to do it for great owners – they are new to the stable, but they are very supportive of us.

“And to be able to go to town with confidence, knowing their horse is going well and to be able to perform like that, it’s really rewarding.”