27 March 2023 | Ashleigh Paikos
“Very happy, very, very happy.” Is just one way to describe how Ray Jones was feeling on Saturday afternoon after Lavra Joe took out the 2023 $50,000 Furphy Bunbury Cup, with the WA Bred star working his way to the lead from the outside barrier, barrier 7, taking out the Group 3 feature for Ray Jones and Chris Lewis.
When asked if he was confident, Jones replied “Not from barrier 7, it was looking like we needed a little bit of luck but drove forward and got to the front, which was fantastic.”
With his mum on track for the first time to witness Lavra Joe race, the win was a special one for Jones, with the Cup ending up at the families table for a quick celebration before heading home to Bridgetown where they will continue their preparations for the big race in two weeks time, the TABTouch Nullarbor Slot Race at Gloucester Park.
With over half-a-million-dollars in stake money, Lavra Joe’s next target is the $1 million TABTouch Nullarbor Slot Race and Ray Jones certainly believes the five-year-old is good enough.
“He is and that’s the whole thing, we had bad luck in the Pacing Cup and the Nugget, we had four runs and luck just disappeared, so we had a little break. Last weeks run was good, in Perth he ran fourth, its good, the lucks returned.”
“He was going really good in those big races, we just had no luck, his work at home was just as good if not better than, he’s just working up good now, he’s going to be a lot better in two more weeks,”
“With a draw, he’s going to be very, very competitive.”
Lavra Joe was the first horse selected for the upcoming TABTouch Nullarbor Slot Race for April 14, with RAM Racing securing him in December 2022.
Bred by Kevin and Annette Charles, Lavra Joe was a relatively cheap purchase at just $25,000 after the sale, but his success has seen future progeny out of Lavra Florence NZ fetch hefty price tags, with Lot 105, the Captain Crunch USA x Lavra Florence NZ filly going for a whopping $140,000 in the ring earlier in the month, equalling top sales price on the day.
“He was an outstanding type, though he was actually passed in at the sales and told in the weeks after,
“Lavra Joe now passes Shockwave as our highest earner. Shockwave sits at $514,000, Lavra Joe is at $525,000.” Kody Charles from KTC Bloodstock.
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