Berwick-trained Heez Born Lucky, pictured during a win at Cranbourne two weekends ago, ran an impressive second in the Group Three Tasmanian Derby on Saturday.
By Paul Pickering
BERWICK trainer Leigh Childs looks to have found his very own diamond in the rough.
Childs’ modestly-bred three-year-old Heez Born Lucky flashed home in Saturday’s $150,000 Tasmanian Derby (2200m) to finish second behind fellow Victorian Mourinho, setting up a likely tilt at the Adelaide Derby in May.
A gifted horseman and former jockey, Childs was reluctant to talk about his charge in the lead-up to Saturday’s race, but happily lifted the lid after a breakout performance at Group Three level.
His promising bay – part-owned by a group of Pakenham traders including his cousin, Dan O’Loughlin, and Hardy’s Mitre 10 own-er Darrell Hardy – came from last place at the 800m mark to hit the post just 2.5 lengths behind the runaway win-ner.
The Kiwi-bred gelding now has four wins – most recently a victory at Cranbourne on 30 January – and a second to his name in just seven starts. And Childs, who first spotted the horse during a mediocre trial in New Zealand last year, is excited.
“That race was always the main goal (for this preparation), so I was absolutely rapt that he got there,” he said on Monday.
Childs was delighted with the run, given that not everything went to according to his pre-race plan for jockey Rhys McLeod.
“We went through the race with some form analysis and it looked like a lot of horses wanted to go forward, so we didn’t want to bring ourselves unstuck by challenging them,” he explained.
“It was just unfortunate that he had to come from last, but that was a fair effort to come from behind on that (narrow) track.”
A win would have sent Childs and a 20-strong contingent of travelling owners into raptures, but one gets the feeling that their time at Group level will come.
That, in itself, is a credit to Childs’ eye for equine talent, because the emerging trainer – who rides his own trackwork – admits that Heez Born Lucky was no blue blood.
“His sire isn’t well known and the mare was pretty ordinary, so he’s really defied his breeding and is one out of the blocks,” Childs said.
“And although he didn’t trial fantastic (in New Zealand), the moment I sat on him I could tell that he had ability.”
Childs said he would map out a plan for the horse’s next preparation this week, but he has already flagged the Adelaide Derby as a target.
That would provide another thrill for the horse’s diverse ownership group, many of whom are new to the racing caper.
O’Loughlin, a star player and former coach of Pakenham Football Club, can hardly believe the luck he’s had with his first racehorse.
He and Hardy – members of the Double D syndicate – had to be talked into buying a leftover share of Heez Born Lucky, but they’re not complaining now.
“We went in it to have a bit of fun, and if it ever ran a race we would’ve been rapt,” O’Loughlin said.
“So to win four out of seven starts is an unbelievable introduction to horse ownership.
“We got into it together and it’s been an unbelievable 12 months for someone who knew very little about horseracing – and still does.”
