Brent Lilley will need to knock up another shelf in the trophy room after a successful two-state romp secured three highly coveted crowns.
The Bolinda trainer swept Echuca Harness Racing Club’s cups on Friday night, with Sicario winning the Moama Bowling Club Echuca Pacing Cup and Father Christmas the J A Connelly Cystal Bucket.
The Trots Country Cups Championship double carried over to South Australia’s Cup night on Saturday, when Izmok – in only his second start for the stable – saluted in the TAB South Australian Trotters Cup.
The latter was a particularly pleasing result for Lilley, having won with a horse he had long coveted and for a trots-loving Victorian family.
Izmok, who made his Australian debut when winning Stawell’s Tontine Trotting Championship on January 27, is a recent purchase by owners Julie and William Mifsud and reinsman Aussie Mifsud.
“He was one Jim Connelly had marked down to buy at the yearling sales and we didn’t get him when he went for $90,000,” Lilley said. “I have watched him all his life.
“Aussie Mifsud a while ago asked me to find a nice trotter for him that I could train and he could drive and I inquired about this one and we were able to get him.”
The Muscles Yankee six-year-old has rich bloodlines with mare Belle Galleon having produced Stent ($1,130,406), Belles Son ($127,058) and My Arya ($288,406) before Izmok was her fourth and final foal.
He was a three-time winner from 42 starts in New Zealand, with his greatest stakes result being a second placing behind Habibi Inta in the 4YO Ruby, finishing just 1.3 metres shy of the winner and ahead of brilliant Victorian mare Dance Craze.
While he placed in five of his last 10 New Zealand outings, the six-year-old gelding hasn’t tasted success since October 2017.
That has all changed on Australian soil, with Izmok claiming two wins from as many starts including Saturday night, when Mifsud advanced from the breeze to leader’s back when the opportunity presented and then clawed past The Penny Drops in the final stages to win the Group 2 by a half-neck.
“I thought with the right run he would be awfully hard to beat and he was with a 10 out of 10 drive from Aussie,” Lilley said.
And it’s a result made all the sweeter by the fact Aussie shares it with his wife and son, owners of the victor.
“They are a lovely family and it’s really nice to see them enjoying it.”
As mentioned, there was also plenty for Lilley to enjoy on Friday night at Echuca, where he produced a race-to-race double, beginning with a quinella in the J A Connelly Crystal Bucket, Echuca’s leg of the Maoris Idol Trotting Championship.
Lilley’s runner Stress Factor held the leading early before stablemate Father Christmas bullied to the front and registered a 4.2-metre win for reinsman Ross Payne.
“His work at home the last couple of months had been really good but he hadn’t shown it on race day,” Lilley said. “He’s just a notch down from the top line horses and off a handicap in the country cups, but he’s done a good job this horse.”
Stress Factor and Father Christmas will both continue to bob up in country cups, Lilley said, with the trainer saying the former was “a little vulnerable first-up after a break” but had plenty of good racing in his future.
“(Stress Factor) came over and did a great job straight away, he had a few problems but if we can get him back to his three-year-old form he’ll win a few more races,” he said. “We’ll run him through a few country cups this season and hopefully he keeps progressing.”
Lilley then followed up with an all-the-way win to short-priced favourite Sicario in Echuca’s pacing cup, with the Chris Alford driven Inter Dominion finalist justifying his $1.10 price in the run.
“We were lucky enough to come up with the barrier one. If you can lead at Echuca it’s a big help and I was confident he would,” Lilley said. “It was a nice win without being a big gut buster. He’s racing good and at a high level. The next six to 12 months should see him continuing to run in some big races.
“The longer trip doesn’t worry him and he thrived in the Inter Dominion. He’s probably never going to be a dominant factor, but could win a really nice race if he gets the right run.”
