Dream run continues for star four-year-old

Sun, October 09 2011

Dream Face was the star turn of racing at Fannie Bay yesterday when she collected her fifth successive win in the feature Birch Carroll and Coyle Handicap.

The four-year-old daughter of Face Value, trained by Gary Clarke, has been a revelation since winning her first Top End race on July 9. Since then, she has raced six times for a good second to Emboldened in three-year-old Carnival company and a further handful of wins, culminating in yesterday's length-and-three-quarter win over stablemate Phantom Verde.

Sent straight to the front as usual by her apprentice rider Simone Montgomerie, Dream Face had her rivals struggling rounding the home turn and even though visibly tiring over the final 50m, she had a winning break. Phantom Verde ran on well for second, with Rocky Bay a half-length back third.

Clarke, riding the crest of a wave at present, has done a great job with the strongly-built mare, who had her first Darwin start on May 7. All told, Dream Face has had ten starts in the Top End (including one at Adelaide River) in five months, and is holding her form brilliantly. She is owned by a syndicate made up largely of Sportingbet employees.

Two races later, the Clarke stable was in the winner's circle again, Out Of The Desert far too good for his rivals in the Sportingbet Handicap.

With Brendon Davis in the saddle, Out Of The Desert stalked leader Hurricaneprince to the turn, took over soon after and bolted clear to win by over five lengths.

It was Clarke's 11th winner of the season, and took him one clear of Stephen Brown on the trainers' premiership.

The Brown stable had no luck yesterday, with Belvidere Babe, and Jason Manning's The Bean Counter, late scratchings after playing up in the barrier prior to the Schweppes Pavilion Handicap. The former's jockey, Scott Hillebrand, was taken to hospital for x-rays on a shin.

Once the race got underway, it proved a great contest, with Tayarn Halter's Mousal (Jan Cameron) just getting the better of Kerry Petrick's Display (Philip Crich) by a long head. Seven Bridges took third.

The Sailor (Hillebrand) was the day's easiest winner, Chris Pollard's four-year-old scoring by seven and three-quarter lengths in the Darwin Racing Handicap, while Hamish Boy, trained by Alwyn Trengrove and ridden by Michael McDuff, was no less impressive, caning his rivals in the Darcus Social Club Maiden by seven lengths.

Story courtesy of NT News, written by Andrew O'Toole