Big win for Clarke as Siakam seals St Patrick’s Day Cup in Darwin

[Wandering Eyes]

The Gary Clarke-trained Siakam, pictured winning his first race in Darwin in May 2021 with Barry Huppatz on board, celebrated victory in the St Patrick’s Day Cup (1600m) at Fannie Bay on Saturday when he led from start to finish thanks to a masterful ride from veteran NT jockey Paul Denton. Picture: Caroline Camilleri (Darwin Photography Professionals)

It was back to back wins for leading Darwin trainer Gary Clarke in the $40,000 St Patrick’s Day Cup (1600m) with $6.50 hope Siakam saluting at Fannie Bay on Saturday.

Also, it was a quinella for the 10-time winner of Top End and Country trainer’s premiership in one of the two big races outside the Darwin Cup Carnival as Influential Jack ($2.50 fav) trailed its stablemate home.

The other $40,000 race outside Cup Carnival is the Wet Season Series Final (1200m) in January.

Clarke had two other runners in the Cup – Raazou ($8.50) and Skellig Island ($61) – and although unwilling to forecast success with confidence he was adamant all four would prove competitive.

With Jarrod Todd in the saddle, Count Of Essex was victorious in the corresponding race at 0-76 level 12 months ago after jumping from the inside gate.

It was déjà vu as Siakam, with the highly-experienced Paul Denton – based in Alice Springs these days – in the saddle, also drew barrier one and was never headed after settling out in front once the 10-horse field was sent on its way.

Turning for home and with 300m to go, Influential Jack (59kg) definitely challenged his stablemate and looked set to go on with the job before Siakam rallied at the 200m to get home by two lengths.

Lumping 59kg was no issue for Siakam, who never once left the fence, and it ranked as arguably the five-year-old gelding’s best ever win as Influential Jack (Todd), boasting decent form in Victoria and SA before his Darwin arrival, looked the likely winner approaching the final bend.

The six-year-old son of Epaulette, a first up third at Fannie Bay over 1300m (BM76) behind Poupee and Noir De Rue, had settled in fourth place and was on the move at the 400m once leaving the fence, but in the end he couldn’t catch the leader.

After three starts for Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker, Siakam, a five-year-old gelding by Akeed Mofeed, relocated to the NT and after 21 starts at Fannie Bay and two starts in Alice Springs his record is a respectable 6-6-4-1.

Count Of Essex went on to win the Alice Springs Cup (2000m) last May, so it will be interesting to see if Clarke sends Siakam south for the Red Centre’s big race on April 30.

According to Clarke, Influential Jack, who had every chance on Saturday, won’t see much action at this stage during the Alice Springs and Darwin Cup Carnivals – his main target is the Katherine Cup (1700m) in mid-August.

After nailing the St Patrick’s Day Cup and Alice Springs Cup last year, Clarke then won five of the eight features during the Darwin Cup Carnival – including the $200,000 Darwin Cup with Playoffs and $135,000 Palmerston Sprint (1200m) with Syncline.

He then won the Katherine Cup with Vallabar, who had finished third in the Darwin Cup.

Phil Cole’s $9.50 hope with betting sites Brother Bassy (Wayne Davis) and Mark Nyhan’s $12 chance Halogem (Sonja Wiseman) settled at rear in the early running before winding up in the home straight to finish third and fourth, respectively – three lengths adrift of the first two.

Chloe Baxter’s $18 prospect To The Point (Stan Tsaikos) lined up for just his second 1600m race in 14 starts and was far from disgraced after eye-balling the leaders before crossing the line in fifth place.

Sunny conditions prevailed at the start of the day before a storm hit Fannie Bay making life tough for the jockeys and the runners in the third event over 1300m (0-58), with 16-year-old apprentice Emma Lines falling from her mount Nokondi ($3.60 fav) – from the Cole yard – at the 400m.

With blinding rain lashing the racecourse, which also left the dirt surface in a wet and muddy state, Nokondi was well adrift in last place in the 10-horse field before Lines came to grief.

It is believed the teenager only suffered minor injuries to her hip, knee and ankle and following treatment by paramedics she was taken to hospital by her father David for further treatment.

“Emma is conscious, talking and in good spirits. Has a sore knee and hip, but she’s OK thank goodness,” Rhonda Cole, wife of Phil, posted on social-media a short time after the incident.

“She’s OK, nothing serious,” Phil Cole said.

“Lucky only a soft tissue injury, I believe to her ankle – going to hospital to get it checked out,” Thoroughbred Racing NT chief executive Andrew O’Toole said.

In an exciting finish, Tayarn Halter’s $10 fancy Zou Zou Kacanarkis (Paul Shiers), a last start winner for Toowoomba trainer Kevin Kemp at Dalby on February 4, celebrated a debut win in the tropics with a powerful finishing burst from the back of the pack to edge out $18 stablemate More Snitzel (Jade Hampson) and Chris Pollard’s $16 contender Go Bundle (Dakota-Lee Gillett).

For Shiers, who has battled a shoulder injury, it was his first win since October 22.

Speaking of injuries and torment, Lines, a winner of five races in Darwin, has had a rough time of it since starting her riding career on December 9 where she was victorious in her first race.

The teenager injured her leg when she fell from Cole’s Familja during a trial on December 20 when the saddle shifted – that kept her out of action for more than three weeks.

Returning on January 14, Lines booted Brazenpine home for a win for Cole before walking the horse back to the mounting yard with the saddle slipping after the race.

Incredibly, the saddle slipped once again at the 600m when Lines was camped mid-field aboard Chris Nash’s Archie James on March 4 during a leg of the National Apprentice Race Series, but somehow she managed to find the lead only to be pipped at the post by Clarke’s Thunder Peak ridden by fellow NT apprentice Jade Hampson.

Lines dismounted from Archie James and was walking the horse back to the enclosure before collapsing from heat exhaustion and once treated by paramedics she was stood down for the rest of the day.

After Saturday’s misfortune, she once again didn’t get to complete her remaining four engagements with Alice Springs apprentices Ianish Luximon (Vunivalu and Dreyfus) and Dakota-Lee Gillett (Mt Buller and Meadows Young Buck) filling the void.

Meadows Young Buck ($9.50), who had been placed in his past five starts, lined up in the St Patrick’s Day Cup for Cole and gave plenty of cheek for a major portion of the race before fading at the top of the home straight to finish eighth.

2023 St Patrick’s Day Cup Race Replay – Darwin Race 7

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