That first Group win feeling

Jimmy Locke’s victory on Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle provided Llandilo harness racing trainer Joe Conolly with his first Group winner when the gelding took out the Cordina Chicken Farms Golden Mile.

Driven by 18-year-old reinsman Lleyton Green, Jimmy Locke had been knocking on the door to win in open-class company leading up to Saturday’s Group 3, but it took a 10 out of 10 drive from Green to get the seven-year-old son of Rocknroll Heaven over the line.

“I have only had the horse in my care for a few weeks, so it was nice to win a feature race for his connections,” said Conolly

“The horse has always shown that he had the ability to mix it against open company, not being beaten all that far at previous attempts.

“I do think Lleyton’s drive was a major contributor to his win.

“He showed a cool head and timed his run perfectly, coming away from a midfield trailling position as they straightened for home.”

JIMMY LOCKE REPLAY

The win by Jimmy Locke was the second leg of a double for Conolly as earlier in the night, Always Rockin (Rock N Roll Heaven) led and was never headed, scoring by a long neck and rating 1:50.9 with Sydney ace, Robbie Morris in the gig.

“Robbie summed things up perfectly with the plan of leading from the good draw,” said Conolly.

“He is a very smart driver and gets the best out of the horses in a tight finish.

“The Grima boys, Seaton, and Bryson work with me in preparing the team.

“We only train a small number of horses between us and get in and get the work done.

“I could not do it without their help and when we get a good result like Saturday night’s double, it is a real buzz to share it with them.”

Conolly may face a dilemma in coming weeks as he has three talented pacers graded around the same mark.

Jimmy Locke, Always Rockin and his stable star Art Tutor each have similar national ratings, meaning they may clash in races at Menangle.

“It is a nice problem to have so I am not be complaining,” said Conolly.

“It is satisfying that we are doing our job well and the horses are performing to their ability.”

by Michael Dumesny, for HRNSW