Hara’s Loki out for second career win

By Josh Spasaro

Hara’s Loki broke his maiden in fine fashion at Capalaba last Sunday, but Redland Bay trainer Cynthia Suttle labelled herself ‘the worst punter in Australia’.

The juvenile chaser, who turns two on March 29, blew out to $21 starting odds before comfortably saluting by two-and-three-quarter lengths.

He crossed the line in 19.84 seconds over the 366 metre distance last week and will jump from box three at Capalaba on Sunday.

“I really thought he was a good chance last Sunday. Before I left home, I put on $100 from my home account,” Suttle said.

“He was $5.50 and $2. I put 50 each-way on him. At the end of the day, it cost me about $1,500. I’m still ruing it.

“I became Australia’s worst punter that day. You’ve got to laugh or you cry.”

Suttle quickly moved on from her missed opportunity, saying just the fact that she is a trainer is great overall therapy for her.

“I’m in it now for my physical and mental health. I’m on my own and they are a reason to get up every day,” she said.

“They’re very good for us oldies.

“I only train Loki. I’m probably going to take on a couple more dogs soon. I just want to have a manageable amount.”

The veteran conditioner added she did not get frustrated that Hara’s Loki was a maiden from 21 starts before the convincing victory last Sunday.

“Even though he was still a maiden, he’d won nearly $8,000 in prizemoney because he can run 457 metres,” Suttle said.

“The further you can run, the more prizemoney you’ll get.

“Basically, he was always paying for himself, so it wasn’t a problem. The longer Loki stayed a maiden, the more prizemoney he accrued.

“I haven’t qualified him for the Q2 yet, but I’ll probably have to do that. And, the Q2 has an 80 metre run to the first bend from the 520 metre start.

“So, if I took Loki to the Q2, I’d have to go to 600 metres because there’s no way he’d have the pace to match it with them to the first corner.”

Suttle said Hara’s Loki had the ability to challenge Anti Venom (trained by Christopher Brydon) for bragging rights at Capalaba on Sunday.

In just her third start, Anti Venom won in 19.81 seconds.

“If he jumps like he did last week, he’s a huge chance. But, Hara’s Loki doesn’t always jump,” Suttle said.

“He does have a fair bit of ability in my opinion, but before Sunday he was a 21-start maiden. It didn’t show his true potential.

“He’s well and if he jumps away like he did, he’s in it because he’s very strong. But, then I looked at Anti Venom – her last sectional and Loki’s were pretty much the same.

“I think it’s between the two of them on Sunday.”

Hara’s Loki started well before finishing strongly last week, powering home inside the final 100 metres.

“He’s a lovely dog. He’s not big for a dog. He’s probably in the medium range, but that’s what we need for our tracks up here,” Suttle said.

“I give Loki a good chance on Sunday, as long as he pings the boxes like he did last week.”

Hara’s Loki is by top-performing sire Bernardo and out of Fernando Bale bitch Hara’s Penny, who recorded 11 wins from 42 starts for Jemma Daley.

Hara’s Jackson and Hara’s Thor are the leading chasers from the litter, both with six wins from 20 starts.

“He (Hara’s Loki) is a good chaser. He’s looking like he can run a bit of distance. The rest of the litter, there are quite a few of them who have already won races,” Suttle said.