Troy Leggett (Race Images Palmerston North)
Peter Lock has been playing mind games with Steppenwolf and the Te Aroha trainer has gone one up on the talented but unpredictable five-year-old.
“He’s a very, very good galloper and it’s just a matter of keeping in the right head space,” he said.
Formerly with John Bary, the son of Stravinsky was on his best behaviour at Hawke’s Bay on Saturday when he made a winning debut from Lock’s stable in Rating 65 company.
“We’ve changed a few things around with him and I’ve just got a treadmill and he’s taken to that,” he said.
“We don’t do a lot with him other than that and I thought he might be hard to beat, he’s looking amazing.
“I’m not saying we’ve worked a miracle, it’s just a matter of keeping him happy and interested.
“He did a great job on Saturday and Sam (Spratt) said he wasn’t that comfortable in the going.
“He’s having a week off and we’ll monitor the weather. If it looks like being okay we might give him one more run, maybe at Ruakaka.”