Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Twenty-seven-year-old Lauren Harper landed her biggest winner in harness racing when she guided Luvaflair to an upset victory in the Group 3 SEFS Trotters Sprint at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And this gave Waroona trainer Nigel Johns (57) his second Group 3 success, following Compressor’s win in the WA Trotters Cup in January 2009.
Luvaflair started from the prized No. 1 barrier in Friday night’s 1730m sprint, and Harper made every post a winner by getting the chestnut away smartly and then rating her perfectly in front to score a decisive two-length victory over $14 chance Line The Starzzz, with the $1.50 favourite Patched almost three lengths farther back in third place.
This was the fourth year in a row that the pacemaker had won the Trotters Sprint, with Luvaflair following in the footsteps of the three previous winners, War Spirit, Tenno Sho and Tricky Ric.
Johns has been a notable trendsetter as a trainer of square gaiters since he purchased Compressor early in 2008. He won twenty races with Compressor, who is one of nine winners produced by Flair, a trotter who managed only two third placings from 15 starts for earnings of $1203 before being retired to the breeding barn.
But Flair has certainly proved herself as a dam of several excellent trotters, one of whom is All Flair, the mother of Luvaflair.
All Flair, placed once from 21 Victorian starts, had 150 starts for Johns for eleven wins, 59 placings and stakes of $120,237.
Johns said that he first became interested in trotters when he was a fan of Victorian trotter Opulence, a son of Flair, who was prepared by prominent trainer Frank Evans. After a phone call from Johns, Evans sold Opulence, and Opulence headed west where he won four times for Johns in 2006-07-08.
“The late Mr Johns is the person who really got us into trotting,” said Johns, who has raced several trotters, including Flair’s final foal Mister Flair, whose 77 lifetime starts for Johns produced nine wins, 21 placings and $73,726.
Flair was the first foal out of a grey mare who won the Victoria Derby and Oaks for Evans in 1984 and was retired with a record of 34 starts for ten wins and eight placings.
Luvaflair, a five-year-old chestnut mare, is by noted French sire Love You, who earned $2,411,372 from 22 wins and 13 placings from 59 starts. Luvaflair was bred and is owned by Noel Boyd and his wife Kaye, a daughter of the late Mr Evans. Luvaflair has raced 64 times for 11 wins, 20 placings and $99,964.
Luvaflair and other members of the Johns stable will be aimed at the Pinjarra Trotters Cup in June.