Start crucial for much-loved but ‘nightmare’ trotter

Leroy O’Brien concedes he will be holding his breath when the mobile releases the harness racing field in the Download The TAB App Trot at Melton on Saturday night.

The focus of the young horseman’s attention will be the recent Tontine Trotting Championship winner and Group 1 placegetter Sir Eros (Creatine), who launches his metropolitan open class campaign at headquarters.

The lightly-raced four-year-old provided O’Brien and his connections with a full gambit of emotions within the space of a week after winning the Tontine when he galloped from the mobile approaching the start of his next outing at Bendigo.

But O’Brien can draw a modicum of optimism after he took the reins behind Sir Eros in a trial at Melton on Monday night.

“I put a nose flap on him, and he led from the mobile and didn’t put a foot wrong going 2:00 in the trial,” O’Brien said.

“But sometimes he is useless from the mobile – particularly in the first 100 metres – so we’ll know early what’s going to happen.

“The thing is he gives you no warning and Jason (Lee) said all of a sudden he started to get fierce in the score-up at Bendigo, but Saturday night is a winnable race if he trots.”

A $7000 purchase as a yearling, the half-brother to the Victoria Trotters Derby-winning filly Illawong Helios was broken in by O’Brien.

“My uncle Tim bought him at the sales and thought he had him sold for $30,000, but the sale fell through and I ended up buying him which was lucky,” he said.

O’Brien acknowledges his favourite horse has been a work in project.

“He had OCD in his hocks as a two-year-old and then developed quarter cracks, he’s been a bit of a nightmare really,” he said.

Among Sir Eros’ owners is NSW horseman Mark Tracey, who drove the Brian Hancock-trained Quantum Lobell in consecutive Inter Dominion Grand Finals in 1997 and 1998.

“They are a great bunch of owners so hopefully he can give them a bit of fun racing in the city,” he said.

O’Brien believes Sir Eros will be better suited in stronger class races going forward.

“The problem is that he tends to over-race and he’s in that middle class where you have to drive him tough because he fires up when they sit up, but when he gets up in grade and they run along he feels like he has a nice race in him,” he said.

For complete race results, click here.

by John Dunne, for Harness Racing Victoria