Star young New South Wales jockey Brodie Loy believes the key to his success this season has been how happy he is away from the track.
And this is another reason why punters might find plenty of value in Olmedo for the AU$200,000 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) at Clarendon on Saturday.
The seven-year-old is rated an +1700 chance at Bovada.
The 25-year-old hoop cannot wait for the western Sydney club's biggest race of the year after what has been a fine season so far, notching up 75 wins.
“It's going great. I'm looking forward to hopefully adding to the tally,” Loy told HorseBetting.com.au
“(The success is due to Liam Prior) a great manager and a great partner. Life is going quite well, so it's easy to go to your job and do well when you've got your personal stuff going well.
“I've had a lot of seconds as well, which is a bit frustrating. But if I get just four more winners this season then it'll be the best season I've ever had.
“I've got a few months left this season. So hopefully I can hit a hundred this season and keep building on it, and whack on a few more winners this week.”
That could well happen aboard Olmedo for the Hawkesbury feature over a mile.
“It's a fair drop back in grade and obviously he's in a good stable,” Loy said of the horse who finished 10th in the $600,000 All Aged Stakes at Randwick on April 16.
“So hopefully he'll be at his best.
“He's a horse who has good form and he finally gets a nice deck tomorrow.
“Hopefully it's a good Soft 7 or 5. So hopefully he can get back on top of the ground a little bit and be thereabouts.
“It (drawing barrier eight) is in the middle of the deck, so hopefully he can just bounce out and travel where he's comfortable.
“There won't be too many tactics with him – just let him be where he feels comfortable and happy, and then he'll put his best foot forward.”
And that is exactly the type of freedom Loy enjoys when he races for Annabel Neasham's stable, as he will be doing aboard Olmedo.
“It's great. I've had a good association with her for quite some time now. She's very easy to deal with and very easy to ride for,” he said.
“She leaves the ball in your court to get the job done. It's a pleasure to ride for her.”