NEAT FEAT SALUTES AGAIN FOR CLARKE
NEAT Feat is fast re-establishing himself from being a frustrating, enigmatic sprinter with plenty of potential to a consistently competitive horse.
The seven-year-old recorded his second consecutive victory in the $20,500 Aussie Getaways Handicap (1200m) race-four feature at Fannie Bay yesterday.
Third at the 400m mark with champion Darwin jockey Brendon Davis aboard, the short-distance specialist got himself in a good outside position and was too good in the home straight.
He went on to beat stablemate Kiss The Condor by almost two lengths, and punters who backed him were rewarded with his generous $5 starting price.
It has been well documented that Neat Feat has been too smart for his own good – he can let himself out of his stable, and gets nervous and excited on race day because he knows what’s coming up.
But the veteran has shown a great deal of maturity over his past two victorious starts since coming back to the Top End, after six winless starts in South Australia.
“He hasn’t been too bad this time back,” Clarke said.
“We’ve got him in a different stable and he’s got a different routine.
“He hasn’t quite worked it out yet.
“He deserved a crack down south. He had nothing to lose – if he wasn’t good enough he could come back here.
“He’s home now. home and he’s happy.”
Classy hoop Davis’ victory on Neat Feat was part of a winning-treble afternoon.
“I knew I was on one of the handiest horses in the race, so I just rode him confidently,” he said. He’s
“He won well. He’ll keep going forward in his races until the (extra) weight gets him eventually.
“He showed he can be a consistent horse the other day to win first-up (on January 26).
“We weren’t expecting much out of him then, and he put them away pretty easily.”
Other winners yesterday were Windfola (apprentice jockey Taylor Williams for trainer Pat Johnston), Kaptan Apollo (Davis for Clarke), Commissar (Felicia Bergstrand for Phil Cole) and Bengali (Davis for Garry Lefoe).