Lochinvar Art set to go Monday at Yonkers

Former harness racing champion Aussie pacer Lochinvar Art (Modern Art) will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins in his new adopted country when he steps out Monday evening in the 2nd race (this morning 11.20am AEST Feb 21 in Australia) at Yonkers Raceway in New York.

Lochinvar Art, now with the successful Shane and Lauren Tritton team at Pine Bush, New Jersey, raised more than a few eyebrows with an exciting win on debut in the US at the one-mile Meadowlands circuit early this month.

“The horse is fit and healthy—and I suppose it’s a bit of experiment because Yonkers is only a half mile track, and I’m pretty certain he’s never previously raced on a track that small in diameter,” owner Kevin Gordon, of Newcastle, said.

“I’m told it’s heavily banked and while the Melton track in Melbourne is bigger (1040 metres), Arty just loved getting around the banked corners there,” he said.

“From what I’ve seen, Yonkers racing seems more along the lines of our Aussie style. They take off in the last lap, whereas at the Meadowlands they go flat stick all the way.”

The Meadowlands win was, coincidentally, almost two years to the day since Lochinvar Art’s previous victory, the biggest of his career, in the 2021 Hunter Cup at Melton.

Today’s run will allow “Arty” to get the feel of Yonkers in the leadup to his first key target in the US, the upcoming rich Borgata series.

“We’re aiming at that, and this run will be a sort of prelude for us. He will have at least another start at Yonkers before the Borgata, which runs for six consecutive weeks, beginning mid-March,” Gordon said.

“He’s a pretty versatile animal and Shane isn’t concerned he won’t handle Yonkers, but you can’t just go and do trackwork there to find out.”

Lochinvar Art suffered a small bleed in the lead-up to the Victoria Cup in early October, last year and was sent by Gordon to the US where trainers are permitted to use the anti-bleeding agent frusemide, in products such as Lasix.

“Health-wise there’s no problems with him at all. Shane scoped him after the Meadowlands, and everything was 100 percent fine. The big trainers over there all have their own equipment to scope them.”

Gordon said the Tritton team were “over the moon” with Lochinvar Art the way he was going about his work.

“He pulled up brilliantly after the Meadowlands and he’s been grabbing the bit ever since, even in his slow jogging,” he said.

“The race at Yonkers is worth $30,000 US. We have the fastest winning time of any of them this year, but there are some nice horses in it.

“Hopefully Arty is acclimatising to the very cold weather. I think it was minus 12 degrees C at Meadowlands when he won, but they are now having their coldest month of the year.”

Gordon said Lauren Tritton, wife of trainer Shane, would again be taking the reins.

“Lauren works Arty every day and knows him well. I’m so happy for her. I remember many years ago when Margaret Frost was virtually a pioneer in NSW, and I really believe Lauren will be a pioneer for women in the sport in the US.

“I know others come up and tell her that they wish they could drive and do what she does. Lauren encourages them and says ‘you can do it’.”

Lochinar Art has drawn barrier four in race two at Yonkers. Sky2 is covering some of the races at the meeting.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink