Ode To Joy looks set for encore, Latest Racing News - The New Paper
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Ode To Joy looks set for encore

Trainer Ricardo Le Grange's last-start winner is still raring to go

Humped with the crippling 59kg, many gave ODE TO JOY a wide berth last time out.

Although they say weight can stop a train, it didn't prevent trainer Ricardo Le Grange's in-form galloper from scoring an emphatic victory to reward his supporters with a juicy $30 win payout.

Instead of weary legs towards the end of the Open Benchmark 74 event over 1,400m, Ode To Joy was revving up with a strong run to win by one-and-a-half lengths from Ares.

Not only that, the five-year-old brown Argentinian-bred also clocked a smart 1min 21.94sec for the trip. That proved that his win with a heavy weight was worth its weight in gold.

Four weeks have passed and Ode To Joy did not show any lapse in form after that impressive success. Instead, he has shown to be as sprightly and has caught the eye in his trackwork.

With 1.5kg less to carry, the gelding should give joy to his connections, the aptly named Jubilant Racing Stable, again in Race 4 tonight.

After all, he has only five rivals to contend with and his form outshines them.

Ares is running in the same race again and will receive 2kg for a one-and-a-half length thrashing and that should see him go close again.

The extra 200m poses no problem to Ode To Joy, as he has won over the 1,600m trip and beyond before.

Ares, too, has triumphed over 1,600m, so the Cliff Brown-trained five-year-old Irish-bred is the obvious threat.