Lombo Pocket Watch

Lombo Pocket Watch
Sire:	Jet Laag
Dam:	Misty Maiden
Broodmare Sire:	Windshield Wiper
Sex:	Colt
Foaled:	October 16, 2003
Country:	Australia
Colour:	Grey
Breeder:	Lombo Standardbreds
Owner:	Lombo Standardbreds
Trainers:	Greame Tindale, Paul Fitzpatrick
Record:	39:31-2-2
Fastest Mile Rate:	At 2: 1:56.9 At 3: 1:57.6 At 4: 1:57.9
Prizemoney:	$1,175,253
Group One Wins
2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007	Bathurst Gold Crown 2YO Australian Pacing Gold Kevin Seymour Nursey 2YO Pacing Vicbred Super Series 2YO Pacing Australasian Breeders Crown 3YO Australian Pacing Gold Victoria Derby Tasmanian Derby Australian Derby 3YO Pacing Vicbred Super Series McInerney Ford Classic (4YO)
*Correct as at 8 December, 2007
**Currently Racing

Lombo Pocket Watch is a grey harness racing colt, gaited a pacer he was foaled 16 October, 2003. He is by Jet Laag who was sired by Laag, out of the Windshield Wiper mare Misty Maiden, who in her own right won 12 races and $245,449AUD including the 1992 Australian Derby, a race that her son won in 2007, making them the only mother and son combination to take the event.

Nicknamed The Grey Bullet, he was the youngest ever Australasian bred pacer to reach $1 million when he broke through the barrier in winning the Vicbred Super Series for three year olds, on the 1st of June 2007 at Moonee Valley in Victoria.

In his 2yo season Lombo Pocket Watch became the richest 2yo in Australia and his 18 wins put him 3rd on the all-time most season wins for a 2yo. In his 3yo season Pocket Watch also saw him break the all-time stakes winners for 3yo pacers. As at December 7, before his McInerney Ford Classic victory, Lombo Pocket Watch sat at 28th on the all-time stakes winners list, and Australasia's youngest millionaire pacer.

Currently racing as a four year old he has won a staggering 11 Group One races including the time honoured, prestigous Victoria Derby, as well as the $285,000AUD 2yo Colts & Geldings Australian Pacing Gold and the $284,000AUD 2YO Pacing Colts & Geldings Australasian Breeders Crown. in winning the 3yo Vicbred Super Series he joined an elite group of horses that have completed the 2 year old and 3 year old Vicbred Super Series double, and in 2008, has the opportunity to join an extremely select group that have won the Series at 2, 3 and 4.

In his 2 full seasons of racing Lombo Pocket Watch has amassed many awards including 2006 Australian Harness Horse of the Year, as well as the 2006 2yo Pacer of the Year and the 2007 Lombo Pocket Watch backed up and won the 2007 3yo Pacer of the Year.

Lombo Pocket Watch was bred, and is currently raced by leviathan Western Australian owner Mick Lombardo, and his trained by Cawdor mentor Paul Fitzpatrick, with son Gavin Fitzpatrick the regular driver.

2 Year Old Season (2005-2006)

In his 2 year old season he won 17 races from 18 starts, his only failure a race in which his gear broke and driver Chris Lewis pulled him out of the race.

After starting his career in Western Australia, he moved to the stable of Paul Fitzpatrick and since and successfully completed his next 15 assignments.

His wins include the NSW Sapling Stakes, the Linden Huntely Memorial, the Bathurst Gold Crown, the Australian Pacing Gold, the Kevin Seymour Nursery, the Vicbred Super Series and the Australiasian Breeders Crown. This includes 5 Group 1 events and $642,375 in prize money.

His effort in the Australiasian Breeders Crown final named him the best 2 year old ever in Australasia.

Awards

For his outstanding debut season Lombo Pocket Watch earned many awards including the 2006 2yo Colt/Gelding Pacer of the Year, as well as the overall 2yo Pacer of the Year, and also the prestigious 2006 Australian Harness Horse of the Year, for a season that included 17 wins from 18 race starts and 5 Group one victories.

Along with the National award Pocket Watch picked up the 2005/06 Victorian 2yo Pacing Colt/Gelding of the Year, as well as controversially the 2005/06 Victorian Horse of the Year, both Victorian awards based only on his Victorian races which included 2 Group one victories.

Not only did Lombo Pocket Watch sweep the National and Victorian Horse of the Year awards, he also was a large contributer to his mother, Misty Maiden winning the 2006 Winona Award for the Australian Broodmare of the Year, as her only other winner was full sister to Lombo Pocket Watch, Glitznglamma Lombo, who amassed only $4,350 for her single victory

3 Year Old Season (2006-2007)

Australian Pacing Gold

Lombo Pocket Watch opened his 3 year old season at Moonee Valley with a win in a heat of the Australian Pacing Gold series and proceeded to win the Group 1 final comfortably.

Victorian Sires Classic

His next assignment was the Group 2 Victorian Sires Classic in which he held off a fast finishing Lively Exit to extend is unbeaten streak to 19 wins in a row.

Victoria Derby

In his heat of the Victoria Derby Lombo Pocket Watch drew the outside of the back row in the 2100 metre race. After moving around the field to sit outside the leader in the death seat, he was unable to overcome the leader and eventual winner, Twelve Paces, a colt that had previously come within a head of beating him. On that occasion Lombo Pocket Watch was successful as Twelve Paces raced greenly and did not run straight. For the first time in his career he did not win a race in which he completed, and registered his first placing. Although he did not salute the judge, he qualified for the $150,000 Group 1 Alabar Victoria Derby, in which he drew barrier 3 and his major rivals drew the back row. Stablemate Lombo Mandingo crossed him at the start but Gavin Fitzpatrick easily went around and lead. From there it was a formality and he raced away to win by 9.3 m in a mile rate of 1.59.2 with a last 800 m of the 2575 m event in 57.2

Great Northern Derby

Lombo Pocket Watch then crossed the Tasman to New Zealand and to Alexandra Park in Auckland to contest the Great Northern Derby, along with stablemate Lombo Mandingo. He faced many challenges in his attempt to claim the prize, from the long flight over to the clockwise direction of racing at Alexandra Park. Despite this Lombo Pocket Watch was a warm early favorite to win the event before the qualifiers, held a week earlier. His poor performance and subsequent finishing position of fourth lead to his blowout from even money to around the six dollar mark. Although he drew the inside of the back row in the final he was able to follow through and eventually get off the pegs with over a lap to run in the final. Heading his stablemate with a lap to run and being challenged by Gotta Go Cullen, Lombo Pocket Watch looked the winner as they entered the straight but was overhauled in the last 100 metres by Changeover and eventaully finished second.

Australian Derby

Lombo Pocket Watch was then sent in search of two more Derbies, the Tasmanian Derby and the Australian Derby. Now back in easier class than he faced in New Zealand Pocket Watch bounced back to his previous Australian winning form in claiming the Tasmanian Derby, a 2579 m event in closing sectionals of 30.2, 29.8, 29.1 and 29.1 to run his competitors off their legs.

A week later he fronted up again in the Australian Derby against an old sparring partner in Lively Exit, a horse he had beaten a total of 8 times. The event was again over the staying distance, this time 2698 m and Lombo Pocket Watch was allowed to dictate terms and run his final 800 m in 28.6 and 27.5, making it almost impossible to run past him in the straight to secure his third derby of the season.

New South Wales Derby

Although he would have been granted a place in the final field, trainer and owner elected to run Lombo Pocket Watch in the qualifier for the derby in an effort to gain race fitness. In this race it was not run to suit and saw him suffer only his 5th defeat in finishing 3rd. The final a week later was a similar result in that around the tight Glebe circuit and after having to do too much work, Lombo Pocket Watch faded to finish 5th, the worst result of his illustrious career.

3YO Vicbred Super Series

His next racetrack appearance was at Shepparton in a heat of the three year old category of the Vicbred Super Series for horses bred in Victoria. His subsequent heat and semi final victories gave Pocket Watch the chance in the final to break through the $1 million barrier as the youngest Australian horse to ever do so. On a cold Melbourne night in front of a few hundred supporters he was duly saluted and in doing so became the first three year old to ever break the $1,000,000 barrier and therefore the youngest horse in Australia to do so.

Queensland Derby

In an attempt to win his forth Derby Pocket Watch was set for a trip to Queensland, after impressing in a Newcastle Guineas victory the week previous. In an even run race in the Derby Lombo Pocket Watch was again relegated to second when beaten by 2 m by Queenslander Arkamigo.

3YO Australasian Breeders Crown

In a heat of the Breeders Crown series at Harold Park Lombo Pocket Watch cruised to victory and was moving towards a second Breeders Crown series win. He worked hard in the semi final, but once again held on for victory. In the final he lined up against Changeover again, this time he was drawn the back row while Changeover had the good front row draw. As Changeover sped to the front and driver David Butcher controlled the race, Lombo Pocket Watch was forced to do all the work, and by the time they straightened for home he had run his race, fading to finish a commendable forth.

Awards

For his outstanding three year old season Lombo Pocket Watch was awarded the 2007 3yo Colt/Gelding of the Year, as well as the 3yo Pacer of the Year, for a season that included 19 starts in Australia and New Zealand, for 12 Australian wins and a total of $452,478AUD. As well as the National gong, Pocket Watch also received the 2006/07 Victorian 3yo Pacing Colt/Gelding of the Year, based only on his Victorian results which included 3 Group One races.

Four Year Old Season (2007-2008)

Lombo Pocket Watch started out his four year old season on a winning note, taking out a prelude of the Golden Nugget, a group one race for four year olds, at Gloucester Park in Perth and in doing so qualified for the final, although would have been an easy starter.

The following week Pocket Watch backed up in the McInerney Ford Classic, a lead up to the Golden Nugget, worth $100,000AUD and carrying group one status for the first time, Pocket Watch was not spectacularly fast in the early stages but driver Gavin Fitzpatrick pushed forward and crossed to the lead around 500 m into the 2130 m race. The $1.40 favorite covered the final 400 m in 28.5 seconds, leading to a mile rate of 1.57.9.

Lombo Pocket Watch will is now aimed at the Golden Nugget, a group one race for four year olds, held at Gloucester Park in Perth on December 14 2007.

There has been speculation that Lombo Pocket Watch may be headed to the WA Pacing Cup, held on January 11 2008, due to his excellent form and the inability of horses from the Eastern States of Australia to attend the group one $400,000AUD classic.

External links

• Lombo Pocket Watch's AHRC Online Profile