Impressive work gives Love Rocks the opportunity at stakes class

AN empty feed bin and more sparkling work swayed Steve Tregea to give in-form sprinter Love Rocks his chance in stakes grade on Saturday.

Apprentice jockey Anthony Allen has the challenge of delivering a stakes win on Saturday. Picture: Mark Cranitch

AN empty feed bin, a bigger number on the scales and more of the same sparkling work swayed Steve Tregea to give in-form sprinter Love Rocks his chance in stakes grade on Saturday.

Tregea was on the fence about a Lough Neagh start for Love Rocks after his latest Doomben win, but has been taken by surprise at the four-year-old's progress since.

"He's put on a couple of kilos and after his gallop last Thursday he put his head straight in the feed bin," Tregea said.

"There's no reason he won't race well.

"I guess if you had a query it would be he beat a better field two starts back and ran quicker time than Better Than Ready, whereas he beat a lesser field last time and he could have been winning on class alone.

"But I can't imagine that's the case."

Tregea hasn't been surprised by Love Rocks' transition to potential topliner because "he always looked the part".

"He's a similar type of horse to his sire Stratum," Tregea said. "Before he'd even raced, I trialled him at Toowoomba over 650m and he was about six lengths slow away and he'd caught them on the corner and he went past them.

"I then erred in rushing him to the races, because he should have trialled again and he ended up knocking up in the last 100m."

Love Rocks easily won at Doomben next time out and was immediately spelled.

"When he came back into work we found some little chips in his knee, which needed surgery and three months to recover," Tregea said.

"It seemed like we were forever being told to just be patient with this horse.

"He was offset in the knees as a foal and the vets said he needed time. Then he needed time after the operation.

Apprentice jockey Anthony Allen has the challenge of delivering a stakes win on Saturday. Picture: Mark Cranitch

"I used to look at him in a paddock and you get sick of waiting.

"With most horses, the wait only leads to disappointment, but fortunately with him it looks like it might be worth it."

Love Rocks beat three subsequent city winners when bolting in at Eagle Farm on November 23 and then posted an easy Class 6 Doomben win last time out.

THE fate of the $130 million at stake in disputed funds between Racing Queensland and the Tatts Group won't be known until well into the New Year after a directions hearing was held in the Brisbane Supreme Court yesterday.

It had been initially hoped a resolution could be reached before Christmas.

APPRENTICE Brooke Richardson escaped serious injury, but was complaining of pain in her finger and shoulder after falling from her mount Quiet Collect on the home turn in the final event at Doomben yesterday.

Earlier, Rob Heathcote unveiled a filly he rates as his best Oaks prospect this season.

Sea Red posted a winning margin of four-and-a-half lengths in winning the Sky Racing Maiden Plate (1350m).

"She has something special about her," Heathcote said. "Her runs last preparation suggested she could produce something like that."