Darwin trainer gets 4 winners

Wed, August 04 2010

ASTUTE Darwin trainer Gary Clarke couldn't have picked a better day to prepare a career-best four winners.

Half of his eight runners on Darwin Cup day - Seven Bridges, Phantom Verde, Bankers Lamp and Ethbaal - saluted the judge first and, looking back on the achievement, Clarke couldn't stop smiling.

"It's as good as it can feel I suppose, today's the day everyone shoots for and to get four is great," Clarke said.

"I expected two, but the other two were a bonus," he said.

Champion Victorian rider Darren Gauci got Clarke's first win in the Sportingbet Stakes Class 6 Handicap (1200m) on board Seven Bridges, the opening event on the program.

Gauci, a regular visitor to carnival, settled Seven Bridges at the back of the field while odds-on pop Precieux and Hellfire set a fierce pace up front.

The King Of Roses three-year-old, who started at $15, settled at the tail of the field before unleashing a powerful sprint, overhauling the leaders to win by three-quarters of a length from Powerful Pegasus with Hellfire holding third.

Then Colemans Printing Cup winner Phantom Verde backed up his performance from last Wednesday with another victory in the Qantas Invitational Plate (1300m). Starting at $5.50, Phantom Verde, ridden by Dan Griffin, sat just off the pace before working home strongly in the straight to win by a length and a half from Rocky Bay, with Over 'N' Out a further three lengths back in third.

Star local hoop Paul Shiers then took over the reins with dashing front-running rides on Bankers Lamp ($4) in the Winning Edge Presentations 0-62 (1200m) and Ethbaal ($2 fav) in the TIO Party Safe 0-67 Handicap (1100m) - with both horses going on to record convincing victories.

Clarke, who has been a full-time trainer for the past three years, is going to enjoy the moment before working out new programs for his horses.s

"I'll just take a week or too off and have a look from there," he said.

"I might celebrate for the next couple of days."

Story Courtesy Tod Biddington - NT News