Johnny can rock the joint in Sydney
POPULAR Brisbane trainer Barry Lockwood believes a trip to Sydney is not out of reach for his unbeaten colt, Johnny Rocker, if he continues on his merry way at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The two-year-old shocked punters by making the step out of a 1000m maiden on the polytrack to winning the Listed Oxlade Stakes on Stradbroke day a fortnight ago over 1300m, but Lockwood said it could be just the beginning.
Such is the opinion Lockwood has of the son of Jukebox, he said he could make a trip to Sydney in the spring to tackle the Group 2 Run To The Rose, a race won by fellow Queenslander Rothfire in 2020.
Stepping up to 1400m in Saturday’s Listed Tattersall’s Life Member Stakes, Lockwood is looking to keep the picket fence going.
“He has gone from the poly and back onto the grass, which is opposite to what most would do,” he said. “The 1300m didn’t bother me the other day but the wide barrier did. I thought he would be in a bit of strife, stuck out there on a limb, but 50 yards after the start, it was all over really.
“He will go around on Saturday, then go to the paddock for a couple of weeks, have a run here in Brisbane and if he is still going well, we could have a crack at the Run To The Rose and see where we go from there.”
While he has drawn wide again, Johnny Rocker is expected to burn across from barrier 11 under in-form jockey Sam Collett.
With a small team at his Eagle Farm stables, Lockwood said Johnny Rocker is often pitted against the older horses in work, which he has no trouble with.
“He is a horse that shows enough, he is a great doer,” Lockwood said.