At Randwick, where he has a full book of rides, including four for top trainer Chris Waller, Zac Lloyd, fresh off a midweek double, will try to maintain his strong run. Even though their runner numbers have decreased over the summer, Lloyd, Sydney’s champion apprentice for the previous two seasons, finished his indentures with Godolphin at the end of November and still enjoys great support from a number of stables. In an effort to further solidify his place in the senior rider ranks, Lloyd will pair up with Ciaron Maher, John Thompson (two), David Payne, and Danny Williams on Saturday in addition to his quartet of rides for Waller. “Godolphins are my top choice, but their numbers have drastically dropped (during the summer).” so that has made it a bit hard,” Lloyd said.
However, I’m getting some excellent rides for Chris Waller and a lot of nice rides from trainers. It’s going well; on Monday, I tried Lady Shenandoah, the winner of the Waller’s Flight Stakes. The Waller-trained Starman competes in the Captivant @ Kia Ora Handicap (1400m) in Lloyd’s Randwick book. Even though the six-year-old has only won three of his 28 starts, his last two efforts have been strong, including finishing second to Yorkshire at Wyong over 1350m after making late gains under Lloyd’s guidance. According to Lloyd, “he is a horse that struggles to win, but he is racing really well.” “He was somewhat outclassed there after running into Yorkshire at the last start, who is most likely a Group horse in the making.”However, he has a good barrier (four) on Saturday and he is in good form.
“If there is a day for him to win, it could be Saturday.”
Five of Lloyd’s remaining rides, including the promising filly Qatars Choice ($5) for Maher in the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale 9-11 Feb Handicap (1400m), were priced at $7.50 and under on Thursday, while Starman was a $8 possibility with betting sites. Out of Group 1 winner Fenway, Qatars Choice, a $950,000 yearling purchase, broke her maiden in style with a commanding first-up victory at Canterbury on New Year’s Day.
