Canterbury hosts juvenile triumph for Payne and Lloyd
The quality of stablemates Persian Wonder and Krasina shone through as they both broke their maidens at Canterbury, though Persian Wonder's victory was particularly hard-earned.
Having contested some of the leading autumn two-year-old events, including a second placing in the Group 3 Baillieu Handicap (1400m), Persian Wonder ($3.30) settled in the chasing pack and appeared to be under considerable duress as they approached the home turn in the Robrick Lodge Handicap (1200m) on Wednesday.
Under determined riding from Zac Lloyd, the colt rallied strongly in the latter stages to reel in the leader Yoshida by a comfortable length, securing a gritty win.
"It's obviously not the way to ride him, but I thought I'd give him every chance to tough it out, and that he did," Lloyd shared. "As you can see in his past few replays, he is quite a lazy horse and he's going to benefit when he gets a bit of headgear on. We've just got to wait for him to be mentally ready.
"I knew he was going to keep responding, and once he got a couple of reminders, he really stretched and went on with the job."
The successful partnership of Lloyd and Payne continued a race later with Krasina ($1.80 fav), who avenged a luckless third behind Why So Hard at Randwick last month to break her maiden status in the Bisley Workwear Handicap (1200m).
Although Payne was not present, Lloyd conveyed his satisfaction in securing a midweek double for the respected trainer, highlighting the historical connection between the Lloyd and Payne families, including Jeff Lloyd, Zac's father.
"Lloyd and Payne go a long way back, so it's good when I can ride winners for David," Zac Lloyd remarked. "It was good to see her be able to put herself in a spot where you're not relying so much on luck.
"The form was there. She was the best horse in the race, so I rode her accordingly and she has done that very comfortably."
Payne, despite managing a smaller team, has a promising collection of rising three-year-olds, with Bangkok Hottie, a Randwick winner in April, set to trial at Rosehill on Friday as preparation for the Princess Series.
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