Five-year-old Sweet Lou gelding Imperial Laz will take a step back in class in his quest to record his third win of the season in Hobart on Sunday night.
The winner of six races in a 43-start career finished midfield in the Sheffield Cup in Launceston last week, and was placed in a 2579m Discretionary Handicap in Hobart the start prior.
On Sunday, the Juanita McKenzie-trained pacer will line up in a National Rating 67 to 74 event over 2090m, where the pacer gets into the race well with the benefit of Jack Watson’s five-point novice driver claim.
“He has been going well. He is on that tricky mark, so we decided that we would give him a couple of runs in the Free For Alls when we can, just to see if it’ll toughen him up a little bit,” said Watson.
“I thought he was a little bit stiff last start. He didn’t get much peace in front. But he stuck on pretty well.
The pacer has drawn barrier six of six for Sunday’s race.
“It’s a tricky draw, really, because I just don’t know what will happen early, but I definitely think he’ll be thereabouts.”
The McKenzie-Watson combination will also combine late in the night with Oh No Never Again in a 2090m National Rating 55 to 59 event.
The gelding is owned by Watson and has won four races this season, with his most recent victory coming in Hobart five starts ago.
“There is a lot of speed inside him, so we’ll just see what happens. I’ll just try to drive him how he feels comfortable.
“I was happy with his run last week, because he didn’t get much peace,” said Watson.
McKenzie and Watson’s most recent win came in Launceston last Sunday when Darcy Be Dreaming scored on debut.
The Be Happy Mach two-year-old colt is owned and part-bred by Matt Triffitt, and has been sent for a spell before targeting races such as the Dandy Patch later in the season.
“He had flown under the radar a little bit. I didn’t think he trialled that badly. Obviously, those watching didn’t think so, but I was pretty confident going into it with him last week,” Watson said.
The first race on Sunday has been brought forward for the original advertised start time, and is now scheduled for 16:34.
