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| Staff Writer |
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Australian trainers will tell you, the time is never right to make a trip to the Middle East. There’s always too much quality racing on home ground for top horses to be shipped internationally. “It's not worthwhile,” is what they all say.
But the master of Clarken Racing begs to differ. He makes his Meydan debut with Parsifal and He’s A Balter entered in the Bluepoint Sprint. Clarken hopes to learn the ropes this year and return with bigger horses to contest the biggest sprints in the region.
Ten Furlongs chats to the leading Australian conditioner about his sprinters, their traveling plans, his stable stars, and more.
Q: Please tell us about the duo of horses you will be travelling to Dubai.
A: We have two horses coming to Dubai. The first one is Parsifal, who was runner up in the Flemington Kensington Stakes. And He's a Balter who ran third in the Christmas Handicap at Morphettville in December.
Q: Which races are they likely to be aimed at?
A: The Blue Point Sprint is what they are really being aimed at. However, there are three or four nice races with great prize money that are suitable for them.
Q: And what are your plans for them once they go back to Australia?
A: I want to really test the waters to racehorses for Dubai, Saudi, etc. Once they return we just take our time, allow them to recover and then decide on the races that will work best for them.
Q: Have you raced in the region before?
A: I have never been there before. One of the owners of He’s a Balter, has been there in a good group of races and he had a wonderful time. And, and he has been the real driving force behind it. He made some good connections over there. And so far the horses aren't there yet, but people have been really wonderful, helping us navigate the way over there. So it's really smooth sailing at this point.
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Q: What about your own travelling plans?
A: I will come for the first week of training and into the race. And then I'll come back and we'll see from there. I have to make sure the horses run to their absolute best, so I want to be there quite often.
Q: Could you tell us a bit more about their owners?
A: Anthony Pannozo together with a small group of others own He's a Balter. Anthony is the managing owner and he has exported horses in the past. He has just had a terrific year. He scored four wins together for them in a quarter.
Parsifal is owned by one of my good friends, John Kelton and he has done some racing for another stable. And he's been a terrifically good horse for us. He ran second to a really good sprinter in a Group Two race at Flemington but he has not won a stakes race yet. He loves straight racing and really excels running the straight. I am sure he will like going down the Meydan straight and he seems to like racing at night as well.
Q: How did the horses come to you?
A: We bought Parsifal at an online auction. While He’s a Balter was one that came from another stable. He really likes living here in South Australia. And he's just going particularly well.
Q: Who are your other stable stars for 2022?
A: I've got a really high-quality horse called Beau Rossa. He ran second in the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes was beaten by a very small margin and won the Gr.2 Tab Tobin Bronze Stakes. He is a real stable star of the house. He's one that we're really focusing on. He's a terrific horse. He's done a really good job for us.