Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Star pacer Lavra Joe will have a well-deserved rest from racing next Friday night before he tackles the $50,000 Mount Eden Sprint the following Friday.
The brilliant four-year-old appeared at Gloucester Park on Friday night for the eighth consecutive week, when he was untroubled to bowl along in front and score an easy victory in the group 3 $30,000 Past President’s Cup.
“He has been up to Perth eight weeks in a row, and it is time he has a week at home,” said owner-trainer Ray Jones, who prepares the Roll With Joe gelding at his Greenbushes property, 250km south of Perth.
“It was good for him to have a nice and easy run tonight, and I’m looking forward for him running in the Mount Eden Sprint. He is very quick and he can run 28sec. quarters and finish off with a 27sec. quarter. The barrier draw will play a very big part in the Mount Eden Sprint.”
Lavra Joe was the $1.04 favourite from the No. 2 barrier in Friday night’s 2130m Cup in which Chris Lewis sent him straight to the front before the handsome pacer ambled through the lead time in 38.3sec. and the opening quarter in a modest 30.9sec.
Lavra Joe then coasted over the final 400m sections in 28.9sec., 28.2sec. and 27.8sec. and won, unextended, by one and a half lengths from the $12 second fancy Plutonium, who fought on splendidly after racing in the breeze. The winner rated 1.56.4 and improved his record to 44 starts for 26 wins, ten placings and stakes of $416,269.
Lavra Joe’s win gave Lewis his second success in the Past President’s Cup, following his success with the Ross Olivieri-trained Tsunami Lombo in July 2010.