Trainer Barry Lockwood bouncing back

By Jordan Gerrans

Respected Brisbane trainer Barry Lockwood has lauded the efforts of his staff to keep his stable ticking along at a high level despite his personal health troubles in recent years.

The Eagle Farm-based horseman has endured radiation therapy for cancer in his face as well as losing a toe through staph in the last two years.

The revered conditioner is through the worst of it and says the last six months he has been close to back to normal when it comes to his health.

The Brisbane Racing Club portion of the 2023 winter feature period is over but Lockwood still has plenty of black-type ambitions for his team of horses.

Fifteen Rounds is set for the Listed Eye Liner Stakes this Saturday at Ipswich while stable mate Petronius will return at Eagle Farm on Tattersall's Tiara race day.

The 69-year-old says it would not all be possible if not for his dedicated staff who kept the ship going in the right direction when he battled his ailments.

“We have got a great team and we always have,” Lockwood said.

“They know what they need to do and they don’t need me here all the time. Sometimes I don’t have to say anything to the staff, they know what they need to do, we get it done and everyone is happy.

“My name is there as the trainer but it does not all happen by yourself. At my age I need physical assistance with a few things and I need good people around me to do that.”

The Lockwood stable has produced between 35 and 23 winners in each of the last six campaigns and did not have a drop-off in results when Barry was not as present at the stable as he once was.

The team is on pace for their best result in terms of winners in a dozen years in 2022-23 – collecting 35 winners so far – which is likely to surpass the 2020-21 season once it is all said and done.

Lockwood is also striking at 17% this season, which is his best result since the 2015-16 term.

“I am definitely enjoying my training and the health thing is more of an annoyance more than anything else,” Lockwood said.

“I am pretty well-known up at the hospital as I go there for more check-ups than most of my horses.

“It was hard work because when I was going through it all, you cannot think about things properly as you have other things on your mind.

“Everything is all clear at the moment and that is the way we will treat it.”

Fifteen Rounds goes in search of his second black-type race of the carnival on Saturday after collecting the Listed Australian Turf Club Trophy at Caloundra.

The seven-year-old arrived with Lockwood as a Class 3 horse and has won six races since late August of 2021.

Fifteen Rounds was bred by Ron and Rod Dufficy and the regular on Sky Racing praised Lockwood’s efforts on social media recently.

“Barry Lockwood has to be a genius managing horses feet,” Ron Dufficy said on Twitter.

“Genuinely happy for them and good for business.”

Fifteen Rounds put in a rare poor effort in the Group 2 Moreton Cup at his last start.

The top trainer noted the son of I Am Invincible took some skin off his knee in the run and had an elevated heart rate following the run, where he ran almost 12 lengths behind the winner.

Lockwood anticipates he will bounce back at Bundamba this week.

“He is just getting more and more confident since he has been here,” the veteran trainer said.

“It is well documented that he has had a lot of feet issues and I am sure he is building in confidence as he goes along.

“The down side is that he is getting on the old fella but he is thinking young with the way he is racing.

“We are proud of what he has done and it does not happen often, rising through the grades at a later age as he has done.

“He is a beautifully bred horse and he has stood up to the work and how we have to do things to get to that level. He has handled it all well.”

Like Fifteen Rounds, Petronius has enjoyed a stunning rise under the watch of Lockwood.

The gelding previously did his racing with Gary and John Moore in NSW before being sold to new owner Rodney Hay, who was keen to race him in Central and North Queensland.

The old owners informed Hay that Petronius did not enjoy travelling long distances in the float, so he opted to send him to Brisbane and Lockwood.

It has turned out to be a master-stroke as instead of going to the north of the Sunshine State, Petronius won the Listed Lightning Handicap at his last start and will again be on show on Tattersall's Tiara race day later this month.

The Redoute’s Choice gelding has won three of his four starts for Lockwood.

“From that day on, he kept marching ahead and has really enjoyed it here,” he said.

“He is a horse that has always had the ability but he has had funny things happen to him, he had a tie-back operation.

“He has grown in his strength and has had no other hiccups. He is quite a strong horse and has good speed without being ridiculous in front.

“The horse was strong to the line in the Lightning Handicap first-up.”

Sunfall from the Lockwood team also heads to Ipswich on Saturday in a mile race, which Lockwood says is a trial to see if he can handle the trip with an eye to heading to the Rockhampton Cup later in the year.