Lavra Joe is better than ever

Lavra Joe and Mighty Ronaldo, early fancies for the WA Derby, should set the scene for an outstanding night of pacing at Gloucester Park on Friday night when they clash in the opening event, the 2130m TABtouch Pace.

The random draw resulted in the Ray Jones-trained Lavra Joe drawing the perfect barrier at No. 1, with the Justin Prentice-trained Mighty Ronaldo out at barrier five.

A bullish Chris Lewis declared that Lavra Joe would take a power of beating after his superb first-up victory off 30m in a 2503m stand at Bunbury last Saturday night when the colt raced in the breeze before careering away to win by six lengths from The Stars Above after final quarters of 28.7sec. and 27.9sec.

“He has come back better than ever,” enthused Lewis. “It was a really good run and he just cruised. The plan on Friday night will be to lead.”

Three nights before his Bunbury win Lavra Joe met Mighty Ronaldo in a 2100m trial at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park when Mighty Ronaldo, from barrier four, set the pace and won by 2m from Lavra Joe, who started from barrier five, raced without cover early and then was restrained to the rear. Mighty Ronaldo sprinted over the final 400m in 26.7sec. and rated 1.58.1.

“His trial was super,” said Gary Hall Jnr. “He has come back (after a let-up) and he felt awesome. But you wouldn’t think that he could beat Lavra Joe, who has the advantage of a much better draw. However, it promises to be a great race.

“We know that Mighty Ronaldo is a good horse who won the Golden Slipper last July. He surprised me in the trial, and he has definitely come back a better horse. He went terrific and I’m looking forward to this week’s race.”

This will be Mighty Ronaldo’s first run since he started from the back line and ran on from three back on the pegs to finish third behind Lavra Joe in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park on December 18. That was Mighty Ronaldo’s first appearance since he charged home from well back to win the Golden Slipper from Give Us A Wave five months earlier. Lavra Joe started from barrier eight in the Slipper when he covered extra ground and finished eighth.

Ken Casellas