A HIGHLY-PRODUCTIVE season for Brent Stanley continued at Morphettville Park on Saturday, with the Sutton Grange trainer executing another successful raid with Lucky Fish.
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The talented seven-year-old gelding picked up his second win in Adelaide within 12 months with a gutsy benchmark 78 victory over 1250 metres.
It was the son of 2004 Newmarket Handicap winner Exceed and Excel's first win since his victory at Morphettville Park on February 23 last year and boosted his career record to eight wins and nine placings from 47 starts.
He was ridden by former leading Adelaide apprentice Jake Toeroek, who worked hard in the early stages of the race to get Lucky Fish to the front, before staving off some determined challenges from Kenyan Wonder and Exalted Trail.
"(I was told) lead at all costs, pretty much ride him like a four kilogram (claiming) kid," the jockey said.
"It takes me back to my apprentice days.
"I was thinking, 'I'm getting tired here, I hope the horse isn't'.
"To his credit he didn't get much of a breather mid-race, but he still managed to stick his head out late. He's done well."
The win gave Stanley his 23rd victory of the 2019-20 season.
He was unlucky not to have reached that total a day earlier, when the in-form Donndubhan finished third at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
The five-year-old gelding was chasing a fifth win in nine starts for Stanley, and was beaten by less than a length by the Henry Dwyer-trained Under Oath after leading for the bulk of the race.
Stanley also picked up a second at Yarra Valley on Saturday with Disenchanted.
A good day for the region's trainers at Yarra Valley included wins for Josh Julius with third-starter Mount Mitty and Mick Sell with La Maestra.
La Maestra was ridden by Bendigo jockey Jessie Philpot.
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