Seymour hits heights
SIX months ago hobby trainer Rod Seymour was about to call it quits after three decades in the industry, but his daughter Jayde Seymour convinced him to stay in the game.
Her way of keeping her father in the industry he loves was simple – buy a horse and have him train it.
She searched the bloodstock sites found a tried fouryear-old mare named La Louvre and at her fourth start last Friday night in Launceston, the mare scored a narrow but impressive maiden win over 1400 metres.
“I told Jayde that I was quitting the game, even though I had a horse, Kings and Queens, that was showing some promise,” Seymour said. “The next night she asked if I still intended quitting and when I told her I was, she said ‘you can’t I’ve just bought you a horse’.
Jayde paid $3000 plus transport costs for the mare that was previously trained in Vitoria by Ben Brisbourne who raced her as a threeyear-old and thought enough of her to try her at Moonee Valley at her second start.
“The mare’s form wasn’t too bad and even though she hadn’t placed I thought her run in Hobart four weeks ago was good enough to suggest she could win next start and that’s how it’s panned out.”
La Louvre ($9) was backed in from $16 to start at $9 and even though the winning margin over Puma was only a neck, it was the way she hit the line that impressed both trainer a rider Bruno Neto.
“I was very impressed with how the mare ran on strongly because we were held up nearing the home turn and she had to be wound up,” Neto said. “The wide gate didn’t help but she was comfortable racing wide with some cover and when she was clear in the straight, she ran on well and she was determined to beat home the horse on her outside, proving she is competitive.”
The trainer is confident the mare can win again but he has yet to decide on her next start. However, he has targeted a maiden-class one over 1600m on Hobart Cup Day (February 12) for his only other stable tenant Kings on Queens that won her maiden in Launceston two weeks ago.
“It had been ages since I had a winner, but I’ve had two in a fortnight. It’s a funny game this racing caper.”
THE $150,000 Listed Gold Sovereign Stakes for twoyear-olds to be run in Launceston over 1200 metres on Sunday looks like being void of any interstate invaders.
Nominations for the entire meeting have been extended until 10am on Tuesday but if no more youngsters are added, it will be a field of no more than 13. Elwick Stakes winner No Sugar, from the Stuart Gandy stable, has done well since taking out the first Listed juvenile event in Hobart two weeks ago and on exposed form is likely to start favourite given the ease with which she won last start.
Of the raced entries Cairns, The Spirit of Zero and Johnnie Pinch are likely improvers, especially Cairns even though she was well beaten by No Sugar.
Cairns won on debut on the Mowbray track and her trainer Barry Campbell could only put her failure at Elwick down to racing on the circuit for the first time.