Lakey’s ‘loving every minute’ of harness racing life

Purchased cheaply online from the Australian Harness Racing Trading Ring, Jong Ang has proved an astute buy, pocketing $14,880 in prize money in a little under two months.

Lakey, who has based himself at Gary Donaldson’s property at Junortoun, has only two horses in work, including the four-year-old Illawong Parris.

Formerly trained at Strathfieldsaye by Julie Douglas, and before that by Bradley Costello at Koo Wee Rup, Jong Ang had not won a race in 22 starts before making his way to Lakey.

He broke his maiden at his very first start for his new trainer at Charlton in June and quickly added another win at the same track on July 4.

He then finished sixth at Ballarat 10 days later before bouncing back with a second at Maryborough in late July ahead of last Monday’s win.

Lakey admits some surprise with Jong Ang’s early form and is quick to apportion plenty of the credit for the horse’s improved demeanour to his partner Melanie May.

“He’s a very quirky horse, he has a lot of character about him. Mel does natural horsemanship with him and he and she seem to get on really well,” he said.

“I think that has helped him settle down and relax quite a bit.”

While he acknowledges things will get a lot tougher for Jong Ang, Lakey is excited by what the immediate future holds.

“He’s a 55 class now, so the horses he’s up against are going to get a lot better really quickly,” he said.

“I’ll have to sit down and have a good think about the next track and race for him.

“It will be interesting what’s ahead, Monday answered a lot of questions about how he would perform, drawing the pole.

“He’s been drawing pretty badly and has had to do it tough, and he did it tough again on Monday.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how he will go up in class and sitting in a field with a bit higher tempo, to see how he responds to that.

“He’s actually got a lot of ability and is very well-winded. I have a feeling he will appreciate being up against better horses.

“On the other hand, he does have those quirky natures, so we will wait and see.”

Easily the most satisfying part of his early success with Jong Ang for Lakey has been sharing it with the horse’s owners, including his former Bendigo Advertiser workmates Andrew Miller and David Jeffrey, Andrew Cregan, Toby Gray and Will Troedel – most of them first-timers.

“I’m glad they are a part of it. I don’t know if they know how lucky they are, it’s not very often you buy a cheap horse and it wins three out of five to begin with,” he said.

“They won’t have to pay a bill for a bloody long time – not that it’s about money.

“It’s been great being able to bring a thrill to their lives and their families, as they are all getting behind it.

“Sometimes harness racing delivers more than just the money – it’s the thrills.”

It’s been a rewarding and ultimately fulfilling 16 months since his return to harness racing for Lakey, who quit his day job about 12-months ago to focus on driving, before adding the title of ‘trainer’ to his resume eight months ago.

He’s driven 51 winners in that time, highlighted by a treble at Lord’s Raceway just three weeks into his return to the sulky, and now has five as a trainer.

Is it any wonder he says he is loving every minute of his racing life.

“I have to remind myself that it’s not always going to be like this – the strike rate is looking very healthy,” Lakey said.

“But I’ve been around horses and harness racing long enough to know it’s not all beer and skittles. There will be times when we can’t win a race, but I’m loving it.

“I love getting up and working the horses and I love making the decisions on them and seeing them improve.

“I’m loving every minute of it. I just need (more) horses and I need the owners.”

By Kiera Iles republished from the Bendigo Advertiser