Lordag to Atone at Eagle Farm

Lordag has failed to make anything of an impressive through recent starts, however trainer Robert Heathcote is confident the horse is ready to atone in Saturday’s Listed AM Giles & Co Chartered Accountants Handicap (1830) at Eagle Farm.

Rob Heathcote is pleased with Lordag ahead of Saturday's Listed AM Giles & Co Chartered Accountants Handicap at Eagle Farm. Photo: Daniel Costello

Rob Heathcote is pleased with Lordag ahead of Saturday’s Listed AM Giles & Co Chartered Accountants Handicap at Eagle Farm. Photo: Daniel Costello

Lordag returned to racing this time in positive form; running second in the Toowoomba Plastics Plate (1200m) first-up on April 16th before again finishing just off the pace of Gotyacovered when second in the Pertronic Industries Plate (1350m) a fortnight later.

Making a credible return to black type company in the Listed Tattersall’s Club Members’ Handicap (1600m) on May 14th, the son of Any Given Saturday has since run a forgettable 12th in the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1615m) and 10th in the Listed Wayne Wilson Mile.

Heathcote believes Lordag’s two most recent races were not run to suit and believes that with some luck in transit, the five-year-old can return to winning form in the AM Giles & Co Chartered Accountants Handicap on Saturday.

“The races haven’t been run to suit,” Heathcote told Racing Ahead.

“He’s a horse than needs a few things to go his way and needs a reasonable tempo, and in his last race he didn’t really get the tempo, over-raced in the middle sections and then when the sprint came on he was left lagging behind.

“It’s a tough race with Telepathic and Pajaro as the two obvious dangers.

“I think we’ll ride Lordag a little bit closer to the speed tomorrow and I’ll be asking Jeff Lloyd to let him be where he’s happy and roll along.

“The horse has been working well at home, he looks in great order and his blood profile has come up great.

“Hopefully we can tick all the boxes and see a return to form with him.”

Lordag has been a notable performer for Heathcote through his entire racing career since debuting in 2014; claiming six wins twelve minor place finishes through twenty-five starts.

Arguably finding career-best form to date through his recent summer campaign, Lordag beat a classy field to the line in the Chris Anderson Racing BM90 (1350m) before running a close second in the Listed Bernborough Handicap (1615m) most notably on December 19th.

Lordag is currently available at odds of $9.50 to win at Eagle Farm this weekend with Ladbrokes Australia.

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Jared Timms

Jared graduated with a journalism degree in 2011. He is a keen sports fan and has enjoyed many accolades for his lively writing style and comprehensive coverage of major sporting events and horse racing. Today, you can find Jared cheering on his beloved Manchester City with a beer in hand.