Lavra Joe Ticks Over In Trial
Star pacer Lavra Joe’s comeback gathered further momentum today, winning a 2100m trial at Bunbury.
It was the four-year-old’s first public appearance in 368 days and seemed to show no ill-effects of a the suspensory ligament injury that saw him miss last year’s Westbred Classic and the summer feature races.
Lavra Joe led from barrier seven for reinsman Chris Lewis and rated 2:00.6 for the last mile and beat stablemate Been Scootin by 1.7m.
Jones said he was pleased with how Lavra Joe performed and his lesser-known stablemate.
“It was a very good morning and we were very happy with both horses,” he told The Trots WA.
“Lavra Joe did it easily and Chris couldn’t hold him slow enough.
“He went down the back in 28.6 and came home in 29.7 and he wouldn’t have blown a candle out.”
Lavra Joe built an imposing record of 20 wins from 34 starts, highlighted by wins in the Caduceus Club Classic, Western Gateway and Pearl Classic.
He looms as a key player for the four-year-old feature races later this year, including the Group 1 Golden Nugget.
Jones said he would trial Lavra Joe again next Wednesday at Pinjarra before a possible return at Gloucester Park the following Friday.
“I will have to have a look at the program and the conditions of the races,” he said.
“It would be nice if he could come back into a race where he got a nice draw.”
Tim Walker
Image – Hamilton Content Creators