Wagga Wagga one day, Rockhampton the next.
Jockey Brodie Loy is accustomed to travelling far and wide for rides but his schedule this week is a stretch, even for him.
After riding at the Wagga Cup meeting in NSW on Friday, Loy will travel to Far North Queensland to partner the Annabel Neasham-trained Holyfield in the inaugural running of The Archer (1300m) at Rockhampton on Saturday.
The four-year-old tackles the race first-up off the back of two barrier trials and Loy believes he is a more furnished horse following his latest trip to the Gold Coast in January when he was just nailed by Eleven Eleven in the Magic Millions Cup.
“I think the Gold Coast was great for him. It was a high-pressure race and he was strong to the line, he only got pipped by a nostril,” Loy said.
“The pressure and heat up there at that time of year would have been so good for him mentally and he would have come back stronger this preparation.
“He is trialling great, he feels great, he is working well.
“He feels like he has been an old warhorse but he’s only four, so he’s still got a bit of freshness in those legs.”
The $440,000 race will launch Loy’s latest chapter with the jockey relocating to Queensland after the Wagga carnival to do the bulk of riding for Neasham’s new Gold Coast base.
Holyfield is an $18 chance with TAB fixed odds for The Archer, with Apache Chase a $3.20 favourite ahead of Victorian Streets Of Avalon at $4.40.
Some of the country’s leading stables will be represented in the race with Chris Waller starting Kubrick, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott accepting with Dawn Passage and Lindsay Park Crosshaven, while Kris Lees has two runners in Gem Song and Ventura Ocean.
