WINNER RUNS ON AUTO FROM GO TO WHOA
AUTOCRATIC led all the way to give champion Darwin trainer Gary Clarke a win in the feature race four $19,500 Darwin Racing Handicap (1200m) at Fannie Bay yesterday.
The four-year-old, ridden by Jarrod Todd, found his way to the front right out of the blocks and never looked back, extending his lead in the home straight to win by a length-and-a-half.
The horse that Clarke deems one for Carnival time picked up a second last start and has further impressed the trainer showing it has all the ability to make an impact come the big races.
Angela Forster’s Tycoon Dancer put in a late charge to take second out of the chasing pack, beating the Garry Lefoe-trained duo of Weapon and Mr Boomjangles.
“We have a high opinion of the horse as he has quite a few tricks in the bag,” Clarke said.
“He’s the type of horse that has to want it to get the win, and he wanted it here running another strong race.
“He’s got a good natural speed but can also run a mile, with that speed being good for him as he’s a cranky horse that likes to be on his own. He’s a horse for carnival time. We just want to see him put in his best runs and he’s doing that at the moment.”
Clarke had another winner earlier in the day with five-year-old Kowloon Kid taking his second win in as many starts after taking out the race two $17,500 Great Northern Super Crisp Handicap (1300m) by less than half a length.
Other winners at Fannie Bay yesterday were Moscow Mule (trainer Lefoe, jockey Adam Nicholls), Whitemore (Dick Leech, Jason Lyon) and Mr Mofeed (Phil Cole, Paul Shiers).