‘Arty’ the rule breaker

Lochinvar Art (Modern Art) is a rule breaker.

In today’s harness racing world, the gap between the best and the next best can be – and mostly is – wafer thin.

And that’s why almost all of our major races are won by the horse who gets the best run, rather than the best horse.

But, when he’s in the zone, Lochinvar Art doesn’t know that. And he doesn’t care.

Arty first showed his greatness by sitting parked to win the Chariots Of Fire at four. Two weeks later, while still on the rise, he sat parked and ran second to King Of Swing in the Miracle Mile.

It was a toe in the water, which led to so much more.

Within the next 11 months, he turned the tables on King Of Swing not once but twice to win Victoria’s two biggest races – the Victoria and Hunter Cups.

In that Victoria Cup, Lochinvar Art did the unthinkable – he beat King Of Swing after the only three-time winner of the Miracle Mile found the lead.

Think about that.

And he didn’t just beat King Of Swing, he genuinely humbled him.

Not since Lazarus, Blacks A Fake or Elsu before them had we seen a Grand Circuit pacer capable of overcoming adversity and winning our biggest races.

It’s rare, very rare. And very special.

Sadly, Lochinvar Art was cut down in his prime.

We now know he somehow won that 2021 Hunter Cup basically on three legs. Well, three feet, anyway.`

After almost a year on the sidelines recovering from that foot issue which became so much more and threatened his career, Lochinvar Art made it back to the races earlier this year.

We were all excited.

And why not? We wanted more of the Arty “fix” we got in late 2020 and early 2021.

But it didn’t come.

Lochinvar Art had three runs in January/February for three defeats.

He wasn’t disgraced by any means, but he’d gone from rule-breaker to playing by the rules. He couldn’t overcome adversity. He couldn’t defy today’s Grand Circuit racing logic.

So, trainer-driver David Moran and owner Kevin Gordon drew stumps, at least for that innings.

Instead of pushing on to another Miracle Mile, they did what Arty needed if he had any chance of breaking the rules again. They turned him out for another spell.

It hasn’t been ideal with Moran sidelined for much of this year under suspension, but stand-in trainer Rodney Lakey picked up the baton.

Moran will be back in a few weeks, but Arty returned before him.

He didn’t win at Melton on Saturday night (Aug. 20), but it would have felt like a win to those in “Team Arty”. To get as close as he did from a bad draw, in blistering time and after doing so much work was a terrific return.

LOCHINVAR ART RETURN REPLAY

Whether Arty will ever return to the stunning heights he scaled before injury remains to be seen.

But he is a proven rule-breaker and we can only hope.

Harness racing needs him, especially with such an appetising next six months of racing in his own back yard.

Let’s do it (again) Arty!

by Adam Hamilton, for thetrots.com.au