When Zac Lloyd piloted Aix En Provence to victory in August, he delivered his mate Nacim Dilmi his very first winner as a trainer. Now the young jockey hopes to guide him to his first stakes success when Probability Theory contests the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m) at Newcastle.

Dilmi, previously a key part of James Cummings’ Godolphin operation, assumed the role of Domeland’s private trainer this season following Sara Ryan’s departure. Lloyd, who completed much of his apprenticeship under the Godolphin banner, has remained close to Dilmi since their time together.

“I’m excited to team up with him in a feature race,” Lloyd said.

“He’s a good friend of mine and he has improved this horse quite quickly. It has strung together two nice wins.

“I rode his first winner which was quite exciting so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do on Saturday.”

Probability Theory enters the Spring Stakes on the back of consecutive Hawkesbury wins over 1300m and will attempt the mile for the first time. While the leap in grade from Midway Benchmark 64 level is notable, the majority of the field is lightly performed outside market elect Grand Prairie.

“He is stepping up drastically in grade but in saying that, the majority of the field are beside Grand Prairie,” Lloyd said.

“The horse will acquit himself well.”

Lloyd will also partner Yorkshire in the $1 million The Hunter (1300m), with the gelding kicking off a preparation aimed toward the The Ingham (1600m) at Randwick next month.

“That is his target race, but when a horse doesn’t really know how to lose like he does, he’s definitely in with a good chance,” Lloyd said.

Yorkshire’s record under John O’Shea and Tom Charlton — six wins from eight starts — has been exceptional, and O’Shea has previous Hunter success to his name via Lost And Running in 2021.

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