Short cut to success for promising three-year-old

Enthusiastic Melbourne harness racing trainer-driver Julian Attard has fingers crossed that he’s unlocked the key to his promising three-year-old pacer Jeremy Lou (Sweet Lou).

“He gets very nervous travelling in a float to meetings, so I’ve worked out that short road-trips are the best,” Attard, of Caroline Springs, said.

After a below par run at Yarra Glen, Attard decided to take Jeremy Lou “just down the road” to Melton for a few trials as a bit of an experiment.

And his judgement was spot-on with his pacer showing his capabilities.

“We won the first trial pretty easy and then the next time he ran second to a very nice horse in Beach Hopper, trained by Andy Gath. I think there may have been four winners come out of those two trials so we had our hopes up a bit,” he said.

“I decided to go for the lead in both of them because he relaxes so much better when he’s out in front. His work leading up to the Yarra Glen run had been great at home, but when I arrived at the track he was very nervous and had sweated up badly.”

So, it wasn’t surprising that Attard picked out a race at nearby Melton on Wednesday (August 23) for Jeremy Lou—and the pacer didn’t let him down with an all-the-way victory in the TAB FastTrack 1200 Pace.

The pair will be on a return visit this afternoon (Sept 1) where Jeremy Lou has drawn barrier five in race six, Sulkyapp The Future of Form Pace, at 3.21pm.

Attard said when his pacer won on debut as a two-year-old at Geelong in February last year, he looked impressive despite being nervous on that occasion.

“We paid $6000 for him at the yearling sales. I’m only a hobby trainer and my budget was $10,000. I liked the look of him and asked his breeder Heath Bourke a bit about him,” he said.

“It was the same amount we paid for our best horse Franco (Jeremes Jet) a few years earlier. He won 13 races, including five or six at Melton, and over $100,000.”

Attard has now trained 26 winners, but usually only trains one horse at a time.

“I love the horses. I don’t drink or smoke, so the horses are my addiction. I was always going to get into them because my dad had them, my brothers Bill and Joe train a few, and my cousin Charlie and his family have been involved,” he said.

“I’m from a Maltese background and dad had horses back in Malta. He’d race them up and down the road and I think they use to bet among themselves.

“Dad come out to Australia in 1955 and played around with horses here. I know he drove in races when he first came out. He lived at St Albans and later shifted to Kyneton and then Deer Park.

“I was about 10 when I first started helping him and got my driver’s licence when I was 16. I still enjoy doing the driving and help out a few other trainers now and again.”

Attard said Jeremy Lou was named after his son Jeremy, who couldn’t get to the Melton meeting due to work.

“Our daughters Jacinta and Jessica and their children were there to share the excitement with my wife Joyce and myself,” he said.

“When Jeremy was younger, he’d help me with fastwork. He then got into taekwondo and represented Australia a few times and won the big championship eight times. He missed out by one point in going to the 2012 Olympics—the guy who beat him in the qualifiers ended up as our representative.”

Attard said a family gathering the night after the Melton win was the perfect celebration.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink