Saint spoils Arty’s party

By Michael Howard (HRV)

LOCHINVAR Art had a torrid time on his race track return but would have lost few admirers from his brave second behind a blistering Julie Douglas runner.

Torrid Saint was relentless at the head of affairs to have the poorly drawn Grand Circuit champ chasing throughout the short distance sprint, the Hylands My Lightning Blue Free For All.

The six-year-old won in a personal best 1:51.7 mile rate in Jack Laugher’s hands, including a 27.6-second third quarter as Lochinvar Art loomed on his outside.

“We had that advantage from the start and had the horse good enough to utilise it and he’s gone super,” Laugher said.

“He’s probably the fastest horse I’ve driven as far as coming with one run, and obviously his gate speed as well.

“Not a lot of horses can peel out and run a quarter that he’s got in him. It’s just a great asset that he’s got. We don’t have to drive him any certain way, but he does have that really good turn of foot and high speed.”

It was all on display at Tabcorp Park Melton, with Torrid Saint zipping to the front from gate five despite Boncel Benjamin having also been lively on his inside.

Lochinvar Art advanced to his outside just after the bell but Torrid Saint was able to hold him at bay, winning by 2.9 metres while Tango Tara stormed into third with an eye-catching final burst.

Laugher said the win showed the winner’s significant growth, having looked likely of late but not actually broken through to score since November last year.

“Early on he was never a superstar by any means, and he’s just progressively gotten better and better,” he said.

“It probably hasn’t shocked the smart people around him, but the way he goes about it, he’s just progressed so much. It’s taken him a while, but he’s got to that top level and turned into a super horse.

“Tonight was just to see where we are, obviously Lochinvar Art’s going to improve off that run. A couple more runs time the results may be different, who knows, but in the future we’ve got different avenues and ways we can drive him. It’s a credit to everyone involved.”

The start was Lochinvar Art’s first since running fifth in February’s Del-Re National A G Hunter Cup, with the champ working towards the October 8 Victoria Cup after the long injury lay-off.