Trainer Bryce Heys could have been on edge while jockey Zac Lloyd squeezed through a tight rails gap aboard talented sprinter Banjora during Wednesday’s Rosehill meeting, yet the rider remained completely calm.
“Plenty of room,” Lloyd said.
“He’s a big horse, so he needs a bit more room than an average horse. He was just going that well he was able to bulldoze his way in there.”
The gelding powered through forcefully, as the $2.50 market elect, pushing aside eventual third-placed Astronomix ($2.70) to charge inside and claim victory by a length from Beau Bandit ($51), crossing the finish with ears forward.
Zac Lloyd and Banjora executed a comparable tactic to triumph at Gosford last time out, and Heys indicated he’d prefer to avoid rail positions for the undefeated gelding.
“He is more than brave,” Heys said.
“Two starts in a row I can’t say he was looking pretty, and that I had any confidence we’d get the result, despite the horse’s ability, but to overcome that twice in a row now, not many can do it.”
Banjora’s upcoming assignment figures to be the 1200m Provincial-Midway Championships qualifier scheduled at Gosford on March 14, and success there could lead to an entry in the Provincial-Midway Championships Final over 1400m at Randwick come April.
“I was going to go to the Gosford qualifier for the Provincial Midway,” he said.
“The 1400 might be a query, but I thought against that class of horse, he might be alright.”
“Hopefully he ends up in the Provincial-Midway Championship.”
Chris Waller and James McDonald arrived at Wednesday’s card one success shy of 500 joint triumphs and came close on two occasions, with Almaaz missing by a head to Fireball Miss and Soverato collared late by Aisle Two.
They’ll get four more shots at the landmark during Friday evening’s Canterbury fixture.
Racing fans can find competitive racing betting markets ahead of Banjora’s tilt at the Gosford Provincial-Midway Championships qualifier.