Under-estimated sire chases G1 glory in the Stradbroke Handicap and JJ Atkins Stakes

Rod Lyons won’t have a runner of his own in Saturday’s Group 1s at Eagle Farm, but he’ll have every reason to be invested with The Inflictor and Call Da Vinci both flying the flag for Under The Louvre.

Under The Louvre was Lyons’ pride and joy when he captured the 2016 Stradbroke Handicap. Now, his sons aim to leave their own mark on the same stage.

The Inflictor tackles the Stradbroke, while juvenile Call Da Vinci heads to the JJ Atkins (1600m), both becoming their sire’s first Group 1 starters.

“He was a good honest horse who gave his all,” Lyons said.

“He was a backmarker and there was a couple of races that he probably should have won but being a backmarker (he didn’t).

“He was an honest horse with an electric turn of foot when he was right.

“Stradbroke day was fantastic. A whole gang of us went up there, it was just a wonderful day and a very exciting win.”

Under The Louvre also placed in the The Goodwood, Oakleigh Plate, and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes before retiring to Grandview Stud.

The Inflictor, a third-crop product, has six wins and earned his Stradbroke spot with a strong Doomben success following a Listed placing at the Gold Coast.

Call Da Vinci, trained by Bevan Laming, has posted two wins and two placings from four starts, most recently running third in the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).

Under The Louvre now boasts four Stakes performers and a stakes winner in Exotique Miss. He’s sired 171 winners to date – including 57 this season – and is on track for a personal best tally.

Allouvre, another of his offspring, also gave Lyons joy last weekend with a Swan Hill win, the same venue where Under The Louvre began his career.

“Most of the mares he’s had hadn’t been the greatest of pedigrees and he’s managed still to win a lot of races and now have a couple of runners in Group Ones,” Lyons said.

The Inflictor is rated a $15 Stradbroke contender under 51kg with Cejay Graham aboard, while Call Da Vinci is $34 in JJ Atkins betting with Zac Lloyd from gate 14.