Arena is bearing down on another milestone following a long-distance double this week.

Lomar Park’s dependable winner-getter is close to 200 individual winners after Great Cheer opened her account with a front-running victory in the Sirromet Wines Maiden Plate (1110m) at Doomben on Wednesday.

The dogs were barking Great Cheer at Doomben.  At her only other start in May, the filly had been well-beaten at Wyong but she started a well-supported $3.80 favourite first-up after firming in from $6.

Great Cheer (3f Arena – Unmask by Jade Robbery) is destined for better things in the Sunshine State and so is her trainer Barry Lockwood who relocated from Tamworth to Brisbane last month.  “All the travelling was too much,” Lockwood said.  “I did 350,000ks in my old car in less than three years.  Getting home at 11pm to get out of bed at 2.30am was bad enough.  But having to contend with freezing taps and hoses at Tamworth was a killer first thing in the morning.”

Great Cheer was his third winner since the move following Agrophobia (Ipswich) and I’lltakemanhattan (Doomben).  The stable also expects smart mare Brookton Tiara to begin running into form at Doomben next Wednesday, November 21.

Lockwood’s wife Karen bred Great Cheer from a family that goes back to influential broodmare Stage Hit.  A daughter of Century, she was the Champion 2YO Filly of her generation and at stud her descendants include the stakes winners Pillaging (Marauding), Irradiate (Rassendyll), Encores (Marscay) and Sir Laurence (Bletchingly).

Arena has now sired 197 individual winners of 526 races at a 58% strike-rate.  He stands at Lomar Park for an $8,800 (inc gst) service fee.

Lomar Park bred gelding Status Seeker completed a daily double for Arena in Launceston on Wednesday evening.

Status Seeker (5g Arena – Scandal At Court by Mister C) powered home to win the Capital Chemist Hcp (1420m) for trainer Tammy Mollross and stable apprentice Georgie Catania.

Catania had to time her run to perfection as the gelding has a tendency to ease up once he hits the front.  They were bailed up behind a wall of horses before splitting a gap in the straight to score by a neck.

Bowness Stud owner John North has a younger sister to Status Seeker catalogued as Lot 6 for the 2013 Inglis Classic yearling sale in January.  They are three-quarter relations to Arena’s 2012 LR Wagga Wagga Cup winner Coliseo.

– Karl Patterson

STATUS SEEKER
Georgie Catania brings the Arena gelding back to scale in Launceston