James Lyons only has three horses in work but the Deagon trainer will chase a feature race double at the Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Lyons has set Delago Bolt for the $100,000 Listed Goldmarket while stablemate Drenalin, a stakes winner at the Gold Coast track in 2010, returns in the $100,000 Bat Out Of Hell Quality.
Delago Bolt has had his issues during a career which started on a promising note with victory in the Black Opal Stakes as a two-year-old.
He was trained by Gary Portelli in Sydney for his two and three-year-old seasons and later joined Grahame Begg before Lyons was given the chance to train the horse last year.
The six-year-old has won two of his three starts this campaign including a 2-1/4 length win over 1100m at Doomben last start.
“If he can win tomorrow, and I think there’s no reason to say he can’t, then we will be keeping the dream alive and we’ll be shooting for the stars in the winter,” Lyons said.
Delago Bolt has undergone three throat operations during his career but Lyons praised the horse’s owners for their perseverance.
“The horse is just airborne at the moment and is unlucky not to have been three from this this time in,” he said.
“His last-start win probably shows how he is going and he’ll be more than competitive tomorrow.”
Lyons won the Listed Prime Minister’s Cup with Drenalin in May 2010, over the 1300m course of the Goldmarket.
“That’s the only runner I’ve had over the 1300 metres at the Gold Coast so I hope that’s an omen,” Lyons said.
“And he (Drenalin) also turns up tomorrow off the back of his own problems and will run in the Bat Out Of Hell.”
Lyons believes seven-year-old Drenalin can turn in a forward showing in the 900m scamper as he kicks off a summer campaign in his first start since April.
“The plan is for him to have three runs and then have a freshen up and come back for the winter,” Lyons said.
Morning Captain is favourite for the Goldmarket at $3.60 in a competitive field with Audacious Spirit at $4.40, Startsmeup at $5 and Steel Zip at $5.50.
Delago Bolt is at $6.
