Laura Crossland-trained three-year-old Lochinvar Art made a stunning return to the racetrack tonight in the Caduceus Club 3YO Cup at Cranbourne.
The son of Modern Art covered ground early before making ground from the back, racing home to a 3.9m win in a mile rate of 1:55.9, upstaging $1.40 favourite Demon Delight.
As a result TAB.com.au slashed his Victoria Derby price from $31 into $10.
“I’m not really a big one for getting too confident and he was first-up tonight … he’s pretty forward, but whatever he does tonight he’ll take lot out of it,” winning driver David Moran said.
“He’s probably one of the best horses I’ve driven. I thought he was really, really good tonight.”
Lochinvar Art, a son of Modern Art, won six of nine races as a two-year-old, including feature wins in the Benstud Youthful Stakes, the Alabar Tatlow and an Alabar Breeders Challenge Semi-Final.
He was desperately unlucky in the Group 1 Breeders Challenge Final when held up behind Hardhitter.
“In the early days he had a lot of high speed. He was so fast it wasn’t funny,” Moran said.
“His will to win is unbelievable.”
Group 3 Caduceus Club 3YO Cup – LOCHINVAR ART / Laura Crossland & David Moran #TheTrots pic.twitter.com/VbmE8lktMH
— Ashlea Brennan (@ashbrennanphoto) December 8, 2018
Quizzed about why the team decided not to make a late payment for the Breeders Crown at two, Moran explained they wanted to ensure the horse’s future was protected.
“He was up for a long time and I think you can go to the well too many times,” he said.
“A lot of people probably worry about money. But if you want a good horse in the long run, you probably have to put that aside a little bit.”
