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Clarken Racing | Clarken Racing News 55983 Clarken Chasing Third Consecutive Lightning Stakes

Clarken chasing third consecutive Lightning Stakes

Clarken chasing third consecutive Lightning Stakes

Will Clarken will chase a third consecutive $120,000 Listed Lightning Stakes (1050m) victory, a first in partnership with Niki O’Shea, at Morphettville on Saturday.

The top Adelaide stable have enjoyed a strong finish to what they have described and indifferent season producing five winners form their past 10 runners (including two placings) in what has been their equal strongest month of the racing season.

“We’ve had an up and down season,’’ Clarken said.

“We’ve had a really good year trading horses to Hong Kong, you take five of the two and three-year-olds out and it makes it hard to keep your winning numbers up.

“We ran second in another Group 1, we’ve done that the last two seasons, we lost a couple of horses and we’ve gained a couple of new ones,’’ he said.

Clarken said getting to their new Murray Bridge stable later in the year and the more experience gained following the shift to his farm at Sellicks Beach should see good things happen in season 2023-24.

“I think next year Niki and I will get a better rhythm together, from the new base at Murray Bridge I can see us really building some momentum,’’ Clarken said.

“Niki heads a really good team of trackwork riders which is key, and I think that will pay dividends.

“Every trainer always says they have a really good crop of young horses, but we’ve got a really good crop of two and three-year-olds coming through,’’ he said.

Clarken won the 2021 Lightning Stakes with Beau Rossa before Extremely Lucky produced a dazzling burst of speed to power over the top of rivals in last year’s edition and the stable have no short of four acceptances in this year’s feature.

“We’ve obviously had a better standard of horse in this race over the last couple of years, but these fillies get some weight off the others, and I was happy to see the main hopes drawing wide,’’ Clarken said.

“They’ll go hard and that will bring a few of ours into it, whether they have the class we will have to find out, but I think they are better (chances) then their prices indicate,’’ he said.

The interesting runner is Sweetened, an ex-Lindsay Park filly first-up for her new stable.

“She’s going in off two little gallops, we’ve missed a couple of jump-outs and trials but her two pieces of work have been exceptionally good,’’ Clarken said.

“She’s obviously got good performance figures and I’ve got a hunch she’s going to be a better horse ridden off them over the short trips,’’ he said.

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Do the Math: This Redelva showdown is a beauty

Will Clarken's stable can't fault hype horse Mathematician ahead of Saturday's Listed Redelva Stakes at Morphettville, a race that will see Adelaide's two most exciting three-year-olds collide. Mathematician quickly roused SA racing fans with dominant back-to-back wins earlier this year in his first two outings, including a comfortable two-length triumph on Adelaide Cup Day. This followed Bassett Babe's two spectacular wins across January and February which announced the Andrew Gluyas-trained filly as a potential star on the rise, en route to a third placing in last month's Group 3 Typhoon Tracy (1200m) at Caulfield. It looms as an exciting showdown, but Saturday's Redelva Stakes (1100m) is far from a two-horse race, with an influx of formidable interstate challengers set to provide a measuring stick for the pair. "We haven't been able to fault him since Adelaide Cup Day," Clarken's racing manager, Lachlan Weekley, said of Mathematician. "He had a couple of quiet days in the paddock after that. "He trialled last Thursday around the Parks track, and trialled really nice there." The son of Lucky Vega galloped well on Tuesday ahead of his first stakes tilt. Mathematician is owned by breeding giant Yulong Investments. "We'll get a good guide to where he sits in the food chain on Saturday," he said. "He's drawn out a bit (12) – which we don't mind – hopefully there will be a bit of pace in the race and on the Morphettville big track, hopefully he's storming late. "He's travels well in a race, he's happy to switch off. "He's still pretty new and learning his craft a little bit but he's certainly got plenty of talent." Weekley acknowledged that a clash between the state's two hype horses was great for racing in SA. "It's certainly good for the state," he said. "Bassett Babe, she's been very impressive, and was down on the wrong part of the track at Caulfield last start. "The race doesn't end there. Tycoon Star is a pretty solid colt, Signature Scent was impressive the other day, Job Done (as well) – there's depth there. "It's going to be a good test for them all. We'll get a real good guide as to where our horse lies beyond Saturday." If it all goes to plan, the next road leads to the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m) on Sangster-Oaks Day, while the Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) on May 9 remains a possibility. "If he ran really well, that's the natural progression (Tobin Bronze)," he said. "They go two weeks, two weeks and two weeks. So you've just got to go one run at a time. "At the end of the day, it's only his first prep and he's still hopefully got a bit more to come. He'll tell us what to do." Kayla Crowther, who rode Mathematician on debut, will resume her partnership with the gelding in Saturday's Redelva. "He's a real racehorse … he's got a lot of ability," Weekley said. "He might be one of those horses that if they go quick, he can storm over the top of them, or if they go a little bit slow, he's got that good sprint – it leaves you in a pretty good position. "We've got a lot of respect for the opposition on Saturday – it'll be a good test."   Story from Punters.com (Tyler Maund) Photo Makoto Kaneko

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Clarken mare retired, promising stablemate making comeback

Will Clarken has retired stakes-winning mare Prairie Flower, while promising stablemate Cicala is returning to the stable following an injury lay-off.Stakes-winning mare Prairie Flower has been retired after finishing seventh in last Saturday's Hills Railway Stakes (1100m) at Oakbank. The daughter of Star Turn won eight races including the 2025 Durbridge Stakes (1100m) – her final race win. A fast-finishing speedster at her best, the Will Clarken-trained mare finished fifth in last year's Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m), and netted $621,115 in prizemoney across 52 starts. Owned by Bell View Park Stud, the six-year-old mare will be sold at the upcoming National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast in May. "She came through the Railway fine, but she's been retired," Clarken's racing manager, Lachlan Weekley, said. "She'll go up to the National Broodmare Sale and be sold – she's done a wonderful job. "She's a stakes winner, and she would always run pretty solid races. "They are terrific owners of ours Bell View Park." Promising stakes-winning mare Cicala is on the comeback trail from injury. A winner of four from five starts, Cicala turned heads last winter with a hat-trick of impressive wins, including the Lightning Stakes (1050m). The four-year-old Tamasa mare won a Benchmark 82 (1200m) at Morphettville in August, but hasn't been sighted since, due to a suspensory injury. "In that last run, our thought was that she probably put her foot in a hole. The track was pretty ordinary, as it was a wet track that had copped a lot of racing," he said. "We think she might have put her foot in a hole and done some damage to a suspensory ligament. "She's not far off returning to our stable. She's done some rehab at Lee Everson's for her injury. "She looks amazing that mare, and the rehab's going smoothly. "She'll be back in our care in the next couple of weeks. "Lee Everson couldn't be happier with her, he's a master at these scenarios – so hopefully we can get her back." Story from Punters.com (Tyler Maund)

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