Loyola Trios has tuned out to be a bargain buy for connections.
The eight-year-old gelding won his second race of the season in Launceston on Sunday night.
Trainer-driver Kyle Pratten settled the pacer behind the leader before getting into clear racing room around the final bend to score by two metres in the rating 53 to 58 event.
Despite starting at $26, the win wasn’t of surprise to Pratten.
“I was rapt with his last start, he wasn’t even in the screen for half the race, he got shuffled that far back and had to make up a lot of ground along the fence, and he went to the line as well as the two that beat him.
“I figured that if I got daylight from the 400 (metres) onwards that he would be there in the finish,” Pratten said.
“I don’t tend to send him forward as I think he is one of those horses that if you burn him early, you don’t have much at the end, but this time in he is starting to shape up and do it at both ends,” the trainer-driver added.
Loyola Trios has been well-travelled, starting his career in Victoria before stints in New South Wales, Queensland, and again in Victoria before being purchased by clients of the Pratten stable.
“He was a cheap buy at $3,000 when we bought him in 2021 and he did really well as soon as we got him, he was picking up a cheque every time he went around, and in his last six starts he has earned just over $8,000,” Pratten said.
Pratten has his team of four horses at the Lietinna stables of Kent Rattray.
Recently crowned Edgar Tatlow Medalist Brian Mackrill was back in the winner’s list when producing Big Energy ($19) to victory in the 6ty° Maiden.
Driver Dylan Ford was able to weave a passage through on the daughter of Well Said, who was first-up in the care of Mackrill and hadn’t been seen in any recent trials.
Jimmy The Irishman justified his $1.30 quote with another dominant win in the night’s fast class race, defeating Colby Sanz by 3.4m in a mile rating of 2m 0.4s for the 2698m mobile start race.
He will likely be joined in the open class ranks in the coming months by the Mark Jones-trained Will He Pike ($2.70 fav), who recorded his second win since arriving in the state when leading all the way to win a rating 57 to 63 in a mile rating of 1m 56.2s for 1680m
