JADEN AND ZAC LLOYD'S PRESENCE ADDS INTEREST TO THE DALBY MEETING. WILL THEY HAVE A BIG DAY OUT?

By Graham Potter | Thursday, November 26, 2020

The Dalby country meeting on November 27, where seven races will be decided, will take on some significance with real interest being created by two apprentice riders … two brothers who will doubtless display some good old-fashioned sibling rivalry … namely Jaden Lloyd and Zac Lloyd, sons of champion jockey Jeff Lloyd, who both have multiple rides at the meeting.

Jaden had his first ride in August 2019 and a little over a month later he landed his first winner at his twenty-third attempt, a result which prompted Nicola Lloyd to tweet … “So proud of our boy – got the monkey off his back on ride 23 – you beat Dad, it took him 38.”

Looking at those stats you can’t help thinking that Zac Lloyd might fancy his chances of opening his account at an even lower number of rides. Could he in fact set a mark that cannot be bettered … that is bringing home a winner in his first ride?

That is very real possibility as Zac is set to make his professional debut on the Toby and Trent Edmonds trained Satine, who has shown up well enough in two trials following a spell to be priced up at the prohibitive odds of $1.55 in race one. Jaden might also be sniffing around to try and claim a win of his own though. He too is involved in the opening race on the card. He rides the $8 chance Tan Dinh for Chris Munce.

And, while Zac sits out the second race, it is Jaden this time who is on a $1.75 boiling hot favourite One More Pinot, again for trainer Chris Munce.

So the Lloyd boys ride the first two winners on the card.

Neither rider participates in the third race (Jaden’s horse is a scratching) but both are involved in race four with Jaden aboard Black Whitto ($4.20) and Zac climbing aboard Love Is All Around ($3.80).

Both riders have time to take it easy in race five, but it will only be a brief respite as both Jaden and Zac are back in action in race six, both on last start winners in the form of Vincero ($5) and Dunners ($5.50) respectively.

That would leave Zac with the chance to have the final say in the final race on the card where he again rides for the Toby and Trent Edmonds training partnership.

This time he partners Paliki, who is a $2.70 favourite, and, by time, Zac might well be looking to bookend the meeting for himself and the Edmonds stable.

That’s not a bad book of rides for Jaden and Zac … but then Jeff Lloyd does manage his sons and he does know a thing or two.

Of course, the Dalby meeting is not only about two riders.

In fact, it is a meeting normally filled with apprentice riders looking to forward their cause and this time around, apart from the Lloyds, Ty Wheeler, Nathan Fazackerley, Melia Castle, Emma MacPherson, Shannon Stephan, Angela Jones, Montanna Savva, Hannah Richardson, Tessa Townsend and Jake Molloy all fit into that category ... and, of course, the senior riders will also all be trying to claim their share of the prize.

Just who will have bragging rights when it is all over remains to be seen, but it would be interesting to be a fly in the car with the Lloyds when they make the three hour return trip from Dalby to the Gold Coast.

Whichever way the results go … that would be an interesting conversation!

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