Battlefield the gift that keeps on giving

By Glenn Davis

Battlefield has turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving for trainer Barry Lockwood.

The four-year-old takes the biggest leap of his career when he tackles a stakes race for the first time in the Listed Members Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Lockwood is a minor shareholder in Battlefield after buying him for $42,500 at an online auction after he had seven starts for champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller and Matthew Vella.

The son of Deep Field has drawn perfectly in barrier one and is coming off an impressive heavy track win in a 1200 metre Benchmark race at Toowoomba last month.

It was his fifth win of his 13-start career and his fourth in six starts under Lockwood’s care.

Eagle Farm is in the soft range following several days of rain which won’t harm Battlefield’s chances.

“His last win was on a heavy track at Toowoomba so the track won’t worry him,” Lockwood said.

Battlefield was also an acceptor for the Class 6 Handicap but was scratched after drawing a horror gate of 16.

“We decided to have a go at the Listed race after he drew so poorly in the Class 6 and there was a big weight difference between the two races,” Lockwood said.

“He’ll go well and we’ve just got to see if he can take the next step. If he doesn’t, he’ll go back to a Class 6 and if he does go well there’s better things ahead including the summer carnival.

“It’s a big step up but we thought we’d give it a go.”

Battlefield was almost sold to Hong Kong after he won two of his first three starts for the Eagle Farm conditioner.

“The offer was about ten times what we paid for him but it never went ahead,” Lockwood said.

“He had heart arrhythmia when we bought him but the offer didn’t go any further after the buyer found out Hong Kong doesn’t take horses with a problem like heart arrhythmia.”

Lockwood is having one of the best starts to a season in many years and is currently striking at 28.6 per cent with 10 wins from 35 starters.

It’s more than double last season’s strike rate of 12.7 per cent with 27 wins from 212 starters.

The 71-year-old Lockwood has fought off a series of health battles in recent times including a successful battle with cancer.

He shares in the gelding’s ownership with prominent owner Mike Buys who has been a long-time client since Lockwood trained in Sydney.

Some of his cousins from Tamworth also are co-owners as members of Longneck Thoroughbreds.