Appreciating the step up to the 1600m at just his third start, Hawkes Racing’s 3yo D’Argento gelding Lontrice started the short-priced favourite in the third at Hawkesbury, showing plenty of promise to take out the $100,000 Super Maiden.
Having finished a narrow third in his only run last campaign, the gelding resumed with a fourth over 1300m on the Randwick Kensington track recently, and off the back of those efforts, the punting public sent him out very short in the betting on Wednesday.
Settling behind the leader after a good getaway by jockey Zac Lloyd from the barriers, it was a masterful ride to settle him where he did as the pace clearly slackened mid-race which was always going to make it hard for those who needed to make up ground late.
With the Edward Cummings trained Demmo Dermy leading under his own steam, the lone 4yo in the race kicked strongly when the field entered the home straight with Lloyd making the decision to go back towards the inside rail, where he slowly, but surely made up the deficit to get his head in front aboard Lontrice.
Pulling clear to win by a little over a half-length margin, it was a strong win in a race that wasn’t run to suit for the son of So You Think’s G1 Rosehill Guineas winner D’Argento.
Michael Hawkes was on course to represent the stable on Wednesday.
“Yeah, it was a job done. He jumped good. I thought he was going to be outside leader, to be honest and then Zac sort of decided to come back and get in amongst them, and probably at about the 500, it started to get a little bit panicky. There was no speed, and they sprinted."
“He's actually done a really good job, because he's still learning, he's still a baby. It wasn't probably till his last 50 or 75 where he just started to really motor home. He ran through the line, so probably look a little bit hairy there for some punters, but luckily he's a good horse.”
“It's only his third start. So, look, to be fair, yeah, it would have been great today to get out.
“He's still a bit wayward but the thing what we've liked about this horse is he's just he's always shown the ability from the get go but he's just such a slow maturer.
"Lovely son of D'Argento we paid $300,000 for him at Magic Millions, and the owners gelded him, we've asked them to geld him, we've gelded him, and now he's a racehorse. So he's just been a work in progress.
“Let's say, but he's going to get some better heights than this. But we're lucky to get the win on the board today, which is great, and he's going to be a nice horse for the future.”
Having ridden him in all three starts, Lloyd is building up a nice relationship with the 3yo.
"He’s going to be a nice horse,” said Lloyd post-race. “He's just taken a lot of time to learn and mature. But that was probably his most complete performance and yeah, it’s good to get a win for the owners, they're nice people.”
“When the speed slackened mid-race, Lloyd was slightly worried.
“The first furlong, I was just keeping my head outside Jat (Ford) to try just inject a bit more temper. But ultimately, my bloke started to get a bit keen in between them, So I sort of had to do best by my horse and come out of it.
“Once he found cover, he was really relaxed. But I knew from that slow tempo it was going to be a real dash home and probably doesn't suit him. But he was just a bit better today.”
Getting plenty of his looks from dam sire Lonhro, Lontrice was purchased from the draft of Bowness Stud from the Magic Millions yearling sale for $300,000, the highest price yearling sold by his sire to date.
Lontrice is one of two winners from two to the races out of the Lonhro mare Lonhrolite, herself a daughter of the Listed winner 2yo Spectrolite (Stratum), a half-sister to the dam of $1m earner Sirileo Miss.
After not being covered the year after foaling Lontrice, Lonhrolite has visited D’Argetno in all three seasons since, with a yearling colt, weanling filly, and was covered by the stallion once again in the spring.
The former Star Thoroughbreds raced grey is the sire of nine stakes performers led by the Listed-winning, G1 South Australian Derby runner up Statuario.
