Sharryn Livingstone goes from a horse that sits like a dog to one with two personalities in BJ McLachlan Stakes

Sharryn Livingstone nearly won the BJ McLachlan two years ago with a horse who sat like a dog and now has another in the race who has a case of Jekyll and Hyde.

Small-time trainer Sharryn Livingstone almost won the Group 3 BJ McLachlan (1200m) with a horse that sits like a dog two years ago, now she is looking to do it with a horse she says has a case of Jekyll and Hyde.

Livingstone has just a handful of horses in work from her stables at Deagon but will have her second runner in three years in the $300,000 contest after running second to Coolangatta with Thelwell in 2022.

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While The Bear won’t go viral online for sitting like a dog like his stablemate, Livingstone said it has been anything but straightforward getting the two-year-old to the races, where he won his first start at the Sunshine Coast last month.

“He was wild and woolly when he first came to me, we put him in the yard and I was going to break him in myself, but he wouldn’t let us catch him.

“We couldn’t catch him, so we decided to send him to Kolora (Lodge), I needed my son to rope him and we sent him off and he became the most beautiful horse.

“He had two personalities, he was either really nice or really aggressive, he wouldn’t let anyone in his yard.

“This one doesn’t sit like a dog, he just has a big wide eye, so it depends what side you look at, either the scary side or the good side.

“Shane (Dowling), the main owner, said there was this show called The Bear that had a character that had two sides, so that’s how we came up with The Bear.”

The Bear will be out to win the BJ McLachlan Stakes for trainer Sharryn Livingstone. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

As a home-bred, The Bear won’t be pushing on to the Magic Millions unlike Thelwell, however he boasts the same underdog status in the BJ McLachlan.

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“It was one of the best days of my life when we ran second in this race,” Livingstone said.

“I have had good times with all of my horses but Thelwell running second that day was pretty exciting.

“We were very surprised when (The Bear) won (at the Sunshine Coast) because he flies under the radar and doesn’t really do any more than he has to.

“He has so much to improve on, he is so dopey.

“The guys have big plans for him outside of Magics, but at the end of the day, he is going to do whatever he is going to do.

“He will improve on his last start because he has always shown us that he improves on whatever he does.

“We can’t expect miracles from him, but it will be good to sit and watch to see what he can do.”

Originally published as Sharryn Livingstone goes from a horse that sits like a dog to one with two personalities in BJ McLachlan Stakes