Shep Cup return could spark significant Lover affair

Exciting young trotter Locksley Lover returns for Friday night’s Group 2 Saddleworld Shepparton Trotters Cup, a middle-distance attack that could be the first steps toward big rewards.

The four-year-old launches a campaign that will take him to the Breeders Crown and ultimately the Vicbred Super Series on New Year’s Eve.

Locksley owner-trainer John Nissen has had the son of Love You in work for nine weeks for what he acknowledges is a testing initial assignment.

“It’s a tough run first up, but we knew he’d draw one or two,” Nissen said.

He said he’d be happy to see Locksley Lover settle on the pegs behind the pace, having “never really pushed him out of the mobile”.

“He has a fast finishing sprint. He’s able to get home quickly, so a soft run on the pegs won’t do him any harm,” he said.

Locksley Lover is unbeaten in four starts this season, giving him seven victories in 13 starts, with his latest outing being at Melton on June 4.

Nissen is excited about what the future might hold for the four-year-old, who he purchased as a yearling and is the first trotter he has trained in four decades in the industry.

“I was a bit keen on buying a Love You and I liked his pedigree. He was the one that caught my eye.”

Loxley Lover is out of Elusive Charm, who won 10 races including the 2009 Redwood Classic.

If he continues to improve the way he has, Nissen believes he will become the best horse he has had. Right now pacer Mighty Scotch still holds that title, having won 24 races in the 1980s and 1990s.

Nissen believes Locksley Lover still has some way to go before reaching his peak.

“I think he’s still relatively immature as a racehorse, with only the 13 starts,” he said. “He came back bigger and stronger this season and he’ll continue to develop.”

With still plenty of development to come, Nissen is turning a deaf ear to suggestions that he should target the Inter Dominion in Victoria in November-December.

“While others are talking about, it is not something I’m looking at,” he said. “He’s not that race experienced. I don’t think so many races so close together would suit him.

“He thrives on racing every two to three weeks. It would be too much for him at this stage.”

While Locksley Lover is his first trotter, he will not be the last. Bitten by the trotting bug, he purchased another of Love You’s progeny at this year’s yearling sales. He is out of Im Lady Angus, a Group 3-placed winner of five races.