Flemington firsts for trainer and jockey

Udyta Clarke and Brooke Sweeney will hold fond memories of a cold wintry day at Flemington.

The pair recorded their first winners at the home of the Melbourne Cup on Saturday in consecutive races.

Clarke, who has been training since the 1970s, won the L.V. Lachal Handicap with longshot Rich Charm ($26) while Sweeney, in the fourth year of her apprenticeship, guided frontrunner Leveraction ($41) to an all-the-way win in the Ken Cox Handicap.

“It’s a great feeling to get this win,” Clarke said.

“I’m getting my knee done soon so all the horses are going out for a break.”

Clarke said she had come close to success at Flemington previously in the Cup day hurdle, while Rich Charm’s dam Charmly had also finished second at headquarters.

To make the win more special, Clarke bred Rich Charm.

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It has been a successful week for Clarke with stablemate Heza Dude, another horse she bred, scoring at Pakenham last Monday.

“It’s very hard when you breed them,” she said.

“When you go to the sales you can see and look before buying, but when you breed them you have to accept what you get.”

Sweeney has around 10 months of her apprenticeship remaining and has ridden about 90 winners, with Leveraction being her first in the metropolitan area.

She’s had limited opportunities in town and was offered the ride on a stablemate of Leveraction at Swan Hill on Saturday.

“Today was a pretty big opportunity for me,” Sweeney said of Leveraction’s short-head win.

“I could have ridden Make Mine Brandy at Swan Hill, but I said `no, I want to go to town and ride Lever’.

“I’ve ridden Lever in town twice now and he gives me his all all the time.”

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