Racing: Lawlor expects a lot of Expectalite

Trainer Mike Lawlor hopes to see Expectalite heading home the field again today.

Trainer Mike Lawlor hopes to see Expectalite heading home the field again today.



Trainer Mike Lawlor may be forced to change his tune about a hurdle career for Expectalite if his hobby-horse fails at the Counties Race Club meeting at Avondale today.

Until now, Lawlor jokes that the closest the 6-year-old has got to a fence are the threatening pictures he's waved under the gelding's nose.

"He'd have to have a bloody good excuse if he didn't win this," said Lawlor. "He may not be as good as he was, but he is very well at the moment."

Even near 80 per cent of his best and Expectalite wins the R92 Monarch Cafe 2100, a major step-down in class for the proven open performer.

With today's rider Lisa Cropp on board, Expectalite cruised home to beat a strong Foley Memorial Handicap field last July. The stretch he showed in the last 200m that day was one of the most impressive open grade bursts of the winter.

Lawlor had Expectalite on song for a Foley repeat this season, with Cropp again booked for the ride.

But the time-honoured race was canned at the 11th hour through a lack of entries.

With no middle-distance plan B, Lawlor's only option was to drop Expectalite back to a 1600m hit-out on the same card.

He never looked a serious threat but did well to finish sixth, within five lengths of winner Bellevue Lass.

"It's a shame he couldn't have run in the Foley - he was cherry ripe," said Lawlor.

"I never gave him much of a chance over 1600m but I had to run him or he would have been without a race for four weeks."

Lawlor admits that the two runs prior on a testing Ellerslie surface, which included a fourth in Shanamann's Cornwall Handicap, had taken their toll on Expectalite.

But he's now confident that the six-race winner is now close to the form that also won him an open $25,000 2100m handicap at Ellerslie last September.

"I was going to claim with him at Avondale but I've got Lisa on instead and she's just brilliant."

While Expectalite attempts to stave off a hurdling career, trainer Alan Biddick hopes former open handicap rival Tantalic can kick-start histoday.

Winless since his easy Manawatu Cup victory two years ago, Tantalic may have lost his edge on the flat, but should make the grade over fences.

He showed natural flair in winning a 2000m hurdle trial at Cambridge this month and meets an average lot of rookies in the Waterford Farm Hurdle.

Tantalic's toughest rivals could be a couple of other newcomers to hurdles.

Fellow debutantes Al Jameel and Bois are Stephen Autridge-Graeme Rogerson trained stablemates who also showed up in their new role at the Cambridge trials.

Autridge and Rogerson are locked at the top of the premiershipwith Mark Walker on 83 winsapiece.

However, they have the firepower to edge ahead today.