Trainer Lucinda Boyd attributed the recent defeat of Haaland at Morphettville to jockey error and is hoping for a better outcome in the Prestige Equine Veterinary Handicap (2500m) at Murray Bridge this Saturday.

While Boyd typically avoids criticising riders, she admitted to a lapse in judgment during her ride on Haaland when the horse finished runner-up at Morphettville on September 12.

Boyd had previously partnered with Haaland to secure consecutive victories at Sandown and Geelong approximately 12 months prior, and this was her first time back in the saddle on the stayer after it had raced with other riders for four starts.

“This horse really enjoys the firmer surfaces, and we thought he should have probably won last start,” Boyd said.

“It was a bit more of jockey error, than his fault.”

“When a $101 pop whipped around the field, I didn’t want to get sucked into chasing it, but when it did whip around, I probably should have kept my momentum, but it’s easy to sit back and say that now.”

“He’s a tricky horse, as he can get in front and switch off and I was bearing that in mind because I didn’t want that to happen if he was to get past that horse and be in front for too long.”

“I think I probably should have backed him in a little bit more than what I did.”

Haaland has not won since his victory on Geelong Cup Day last year, though Boyd insists the stayer has been performing well.

The imposition of significant weights had previously led Boyd to step away from the saddle, with claiming apprentices engaged instead.

“I’ve been keen to get back on him,” Boyd stated.

“He had big weights at Swan Hill and at Sandown, and to be fair Holly (Durnan) did a really good job on him (three runs back) and that’s why we kept her on and claimed the second time, but I was pretty keen to get back on him.”

“He’s going well this preparation. He can really sustain a good gallop and now that he’s fit, we can use that to his advantage and over a suitable trip as well.”

Boyd acknowledged that she does not receive as many riding opportunities as she would prefer, attributing this partly to her commitment to her own string of horses and her young family.

“It’s a bit tricky because people don’t enquire for me to ride because I’m not riding all the time,” Boyd explained.

“If I ride horses at jump-outs, I’ll put my hand up for the race ride, but we’ve got a young family and our own horses in work, and it’s hard juggling everything.”

The decision was made for Boyd, Haaland, and their team to travel to Murray Bridge on Thursday, a strategy previously employed when the stayer was narrowly defeated at Morphettville.

“It allows him to settle in,” Boyd commented.

“We did that last time when we went to Morphettville.”

“We think that is a good recipe.”

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