REIGNING premier harness racing trainer Grant Hodges has earned a reputation for having a keen eye for a potential winner and one of the youngsters he pegged as having that something special showed up at the Launceston Pacing Club’s meeting at The TOTE Racing Centre last Sunday night.
Lonesome Kid scored an impressive win at his first outing this preparation in the Furniture City Pace over 1680 metres.
With talented junior driver Dylan Ford in the sulky, Lonesome Kid had no trouble in leading all the way to score untouched by eight metres from Trump Lady with Mister Boswell over two metres away third.
Hodges bought the horse in Victoria while campaigning a couple of his stable tenants about two years ago.
He was visiting a breeder and as he passed a paddock the weanling caught his eye.
“I liked the look of him and as it turned out he was a half brother to Curry ‘N’ Roses that I had won four or five races with some time back,” Hodges said.
“He wasn’t a dear horse – somewhere between $6000 and $8000 from memory and I originally planned to race him myself.”
“But when a few of the local boys from Bridport were looking for a horse to race I told them they could have him,” he said.
Lonesome Kid’s owners are Rick Easterbrook, Stephen Harris, Noel Hodgetts and Daryl Towns.
Hodges left the weanling in Victoria to be broken in and when he was ready he had the gelding shipped to Tasmania.
“He did his first couple of preparations in Victoria with Mark Hayes who gave him a few trials and got him qualified.”
“When Mark said he was ready to go I brought him to Tasmania but after giving him another trial or two I thought he was training off so I sent him to the paddock.”
Lonesome Kid didn’t make his race debut until almost a year later towards the end of last season and he ran fourth and second at his only two starts.
“I freshened him up and because I thought he would probably need the run I put him in the non-winners race against older horses than in the three-year-old race that looked stronger”.
“Even just on this run I think he’s going to make a nice horse – he’s very relaxed and laid back, good-winded and has a good constitution.”
“He might not be a star but I think his owners are going to have some fun with him,” the trainer said.