The trip from Braidwood to Wellington is an all too familiar one for Aaron Clarke but Sunday’s trip home would have been one of the more sweet.
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Clarke made that trek back with some silverware after Failed Approach overcame so early drama to score victory in the $100,000 Peter Milling and Co Wellington Cup.
Clarke had to endure some nervy moments prior to the race when Failed Approach got out of the barriers after the Mack Griffith-trained Schedule ($3.70 favourite) reared in the gate adjacent to the seven-year-old.
Failed Approach went for a leisurely trot for a couple of hundred metres but was given the all clear by vets and took his place in the lineup.
Schedule also passed a late exam and went back into the barriers, as well.
That was the second delay before the race as $4 chance Reiby The Red had got away from handlers and gone for a lap of the track as his rivals made their way out of the mounting yard.
“I thought we’d driven for five hours and something stupid like that had happened but he’s a good, honest horse and it doesn't worry him too much,” Clarke said of the incidents.
It certainly didn’t worry him as Jeff Penza got away fine with Failed Approach from gate three and settled towards the front in the 1700m event.
Interestingly, it was the three horses who had been the talking point around the gates who got away best as Reiby The Red led from Schedule while Failed Approach also sat with Mercurial Lad ($6.50), who started to work forward.
Penza got the fence and that was where he stayed under trialing Reiby The Red into the straight for home, when he moved wider.
In front of the setting sun at Wellington Race Club, Penza wound up and Failed Approach charged on to win by a length from Reiby The Red, while The Getaway ($15) came home in third for Paul Perry.
“We’ve come up here a few times, just not as much in the last 12 months,” Clarke said.
“We’ve brought some speedy little horses up for the 900m dash and it’s a good place to come. I thought we had him pretty right and we must have.
“He’s been racing lesser horses but he’s placed in town and he’s no slouch on his day.”
The ride was another fine one from Penza and it completed a Wellington Boot day hat-trick, having earlier saluted with Westlink and then Skylimit in the $50,000 Wellington Town Plate.
No abnormalities were found with Schedule, eighth, by stewards post-race.