Lane shows who’s boss at Randwick
Ron Quinton admits Boss Lane can be a handful but his antics coupled with his race record make him a favourite with the Randwick trainer and his staff.
His win in Saturday’s Winter Dash (1200m) at Randwick has further endeared him to Quinton and his apprentice Andrew Adkins, who steered him to a 3-1/2-length win over Wouldnt It Be Nice.
The first two started at $11 while last year’s winner, Mount Nebo ($10), was a close third and race favourite Tessera ($2.80) ran fourth.
But all honours were with Boss Lane, which took control in the straight when he found the rail.
“He’s a horse that loves the fence and when he sees it he can win,” Adkins said.
“Ron loves him, I love him, everybody loves him and it makes up for when we’ve got to put up with him in the mornings.
“He’s a big cheeky boy.
“I ride him every morning so it makes it a little more worthwhile when you can win on him.”
Quinton reckons Boss Lane is a little more than cheeky.
“If he was a 22-year-old male he would be in trouble,” he said.
“But he is the stable favourite. He has a lot of character.
“He loves following that white rail and he got there today with a great ride from Andrew.
“And he cost about $60,000 and now he’s won more than half a million so there aren’t many that can do that.”
Quinton was not overly confident heading to Saturday because of the heavy track, believing Boss Lane was more comfortable on top of the ground.
“One thing in his favour was Randwick,” he said.
“He’s only ever won at Randwick or Canterbury. He can’t win at Rosehill for some reason.”
The trainer hopes Grafton turns out to be to Boss Lane’s liking, with the Ramornie Handicap now the aim.
“I think we will take him to the Ramornie,” he said.
“That looks like his sort of race.”
The Listed Ramornie (1200m) is on July 12.