IT took a ride she should never have had, to get Swan Hill jockey Madison Lloyd back in the winner’s circle after months sidelined with a broken leg.
On Tuesday morning jockey Mitch Aitken was injured, so his Warracknabeal rides were doled out to available riders, including Lloyd in the $27,000 Manhari Metals Handicap over 1800m for Tony and Calvin McEvoy.
She made every post a winner when she launched Race Against Time out of the barrier and quickly drove him to the front of the 12-horse field.
She was never seriously challenged.
“Race Against Time jumped nicely, and was very quick, considering he has just been getting back too far in his races and switching off too much,” Lloyd said.
“When he did jump so well, I elected to go straight to the front, where he was doing it that easily they even let me slacken it off heaps and I knew he was good enough to take it and he was super from the 600m.”
Asked about her time injured after going out in a blaze of glory winning the prestigious $200,000 Wangoom Handicap in Warrnambool with that broken leg, followed by time in a moonboot and then abandoned race meetings since her return earlier this month, Lloyd grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“Getting back has been great and I can’t keep away from the races, and I can’t thank Tony and Calvin (trainers and master) enough for putting me on this horse after Mitch took a fall this morning and I hope he’s all right.”
After Aitken’s mishap, his ride on Volpe Risora in the preceding race was gifted to Dean Holland. Holland duly saluted and the unfortunate Aitken had missed a winning double.
McEvoy stables spokesman Finn McCarthy said in Lloyd’s case the plan wasn’t necessarily to lead.
But he said the horse jumped so well at the beginning and “Maddy just showed her initiative to get him out in front then and it worked out very well”.
“We had changed a few things on him today, and took off a lot of his gear, and it sparked him up a lot and seems to have done the job,” McCarthy said.
“He’s definitely better out over that distance, a bit further, and his coat is starting to come out as well and he is looking better.
“Maddy has been doing great work for us and it’s good to see here out there in the winner’s circle.”
