Lindau Enjoying Trio’s Run Of Good Form

Trainer Murray Lindau may only have a small team of horses to work with, but he’s certainly making his presence felt at the start of the new season.

Picture: Hamish Blair/Getty Images

The Banjup trainer has enjoyed a superb start to the 2024 season, thanks mainly to the deeds of Talks Up A Storm, Hotly Pursued and Beyond The Sea.

The trio were all in the placings in the space of an hour last week and look set to figure prominently at Gloucester Park tomorrow night.

Talks Up A Storm was a Free-For-All winner two starts back, before a credible third behind Minstrel and Ideal Agent last week.

While Talks Up A Storm is considered the least likely of the trio to figure in the money when he lines up in the Lord Mayor's Cup (2130m) tomorrow night, Lindau said he's been thrilled to have the pacer somewhere near his best to start the season.

"When I brought him back this preparation, I didn't want to throw him in the deep end, but the conditioned races fell over," Lindau told The Trots WA.

"He ran third behind both of Bondy's (Greg and Skye Bond) but I thought he measured up to the level.

"All of the horses at that level are tough and they are able to finish the races off.

"It's a credit to the little horse to comeback and go on to the degree that he has."

The gelding has built up a credible record of 17 wins and 16 placings from 64 starts and gets another chance to add to that in the $50,000 feature from barrier 11.

Lindau said he had his hands full trying to get Talks Up A Storm back near his best form.

"He was racing rough when he went down the back straight for a little while," he said.

"We got some bloods run on him and they confirmed he was tying up in races and it was hurting him.

"It took me a month to turn him around by changing his diet and having an awareness of his workload.

"I know he's right when he goes into his yard after working and sits down for a minute then rolls around.

"When he was hurting, he wasn't rolling around and it's just little one per cent things like that which tells me he's well."

Hotly Pursued made it two wins from three starts in 2024 with a stylish win over the in-form Jawsoflincoln last week.

The gelding will be looking to enhance his credentials for next week's $50,000 Chandon 4YO Classic when he lines up in tomorrow's Australian Pacing Gold 4YO Pace (2130m).

Lindau said he expected Hotly Pursued to continue his winning ways.

"I put him in because it's a four-year-old Westbred only race," he said.

"It was either race him tomorrow night or work him tomorrow morning before the Chandon next week and I thought he would maintain the level of fitness by racing.

"I think he's the class horse in the race and I can leave it up to Kyle (Harper) on when he wants to put him into it."

Beyond The Sea, who won the $100,000 Norms Daughter Classic last November, has drawn the inside barrier in the TABradio Pace (2130m).

Lindau said he wanted to see Beyond The Sea bounce back to winning form tomorrow.

"She's been drawing tricky gates where we haven't been able to use her early," he said.

"I think she will go close to holding up tomorrow night and I will leave it up to Kyle what he wants to do from there."

Tomorrow's Gloucester Park meeting gets underway at 5.54.


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