Boyd savours comeback win aboard Quizlet

BALLARAT dual-licence holder Lucinda Boyd put a difficult 12 months for her stable behind her by steering Quizlet to an emotion-charged comeback win at Horsham this month.

Boyd, who gave birth to her and husband Anthony’s first child Harlen last September, was having her first race ride in 18 months.

It was her first win in the saddle since August 7, 2023, when she piloted Whiskyontherocks to victory on the Ballarat synthetic.

A thrilling and late-charging triumph capped a year of plenty of highs off the track for the Boyds, highlighted by the birth of Harlen and the purchase of their new property, and lows on it with a few horses going amiss.

Boyd, who worked relentlessly on her fitness in the lead-up to her return, hoped the win was a sign the couple’s exasperating run of bad luck with the horses was now behind them.

“It’s been a tough 12 months – a few have broken down and we lost a horse (Chevalier Du Fau) at the races, which was a bit tricky,” she said.

“We’ve had some tried horses that have had issues and we’ve tried to work through those things.

“It’s not always easy, especially when you are a small stable. You do get attached to the horses.

“We do live and breathe these horses. It can be heartbreaking.

“But I’m glad to get the monkey off the back.”

Boyd admitted it had been a long and tough road back to race riding, juggling the demands of motherhood with training their small team of horses.

“To be honest, I wasn’t too sure If I would get back to riding after having Harlen, but in the end I made the decision to come back and have been working hard on my weight and getting things right,” she said.

“The win was a bit of a fairytale.”

“It was a great race for Quizlet, but it also worked out to be a good one to have my first ride back.”

Boyd, whose 114 wins in the saddle include nine at metro level, was inundated with messages of support from friends and loved ones in the minutes and hours following the race.

“The phone was running hot, which was really lovely. My family have been really great,” she said.

“Having Harlen, they have really stepped up and helped where they can, coming and watching him early mornings.

“My mum and Anthony’s mum don’t usually like getting out of bed very early, but they have both come and watched him for us when we have had to gallop horses or things like that.

“It’s been a real team effort.”

Having held her dual licence to train and ride horses since the start of the 2021-2 season, Boyd hoped this month’s comeback win would not only provide a boost to her own fortunes but ignite those of Quizlet.

Coming off a 16-week spell, the four-year-old gelding had been placed four times in 16 starts before Horsham, including a third over 1800m in his last start at Burrumbeet on New Year’s Day.

“I’m hoping he gets a bit of confidence off that and goes on with it,” Boyd said.

“The synthetic season has started at Ballarat and he has raced well on that before, so that’s always a good option for him.

“We have had a bit of trouble with his feet. The synthetic takes the concussion away, so it suits his style.”

It’s an exciting time in the evolution of the stable for the Boyds.

Apart from Quizlet, their team is comprised solely of two-year-olds and yearlings.

“Working with the young stock is great and we also freshen up horses and do pre-training for local trainers at Ballarat,” Boyd said.

“We do a few for Archie Alexander, Mitch Freedman and Robert Hickmott. We really enjoy working alongside those trainers.

“We’re based about five minutes off-course – we have a farm that we literally purchased two days after we had Harlen.

“It was a big few days for us, but we are lucky to have really great facilities to have horses in paddocks and boxes as well.”