THEY were once friendly rivals on the racetrack, but on Thursday at Kilmore, Bendigo jockey John Keating and Brendan Clements were a winning team.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Keating, fresh from a nearly 4000km road trip to Birdsville earlier in the month, continued a good couple of weeks in the saddle by piloting Steady Jam to his maiden win over 1100m.
The four-year-old gelding, who broke through at start number 11, is now trained by Clements from his property at Tatura.
It was the son of Nostradamus out of the mare Sorren Tessa's first start for Clements, who trains only two horses.
His first 10 starts were for Bendigo trainer Brad Cole.
Keating could not have been happier to have notched up a win for the former champion jockey.
"I rode with Brendan when I first started in Victoria and he was always very competitive to ride against," he said.
"Then he retired through injury.
"He has been riding this horse himself and he has been telling me how well he has been going.
"I knew from when he was with his previous trainer in Bendigo that he had handled the wet in a couple of track gallops at Bendigo, so I was pretty confident he could handle it today (Thursday).
"The way he jumped out the other day ... and I watched the jump-out on Racing.com ... he actually ran quite well.
"Brendan was happy with how he felt.
"Brendan as a rider prior to training was an amazing judge and for him to come out and say he thought this horse was going pretty good, he's run accordingly."
Clements, a household name in racing in the 1980s and '90s, rode eight Group 1 winners.
His career stagnated following a heavy fall in the mid-90s and eventually led to his retirement towards the end of the decade.
His first starter as an owner-trainer in July last year ended a nearly 20-year absence from horse racing.
Steady Jam was his first winner in 16 starters, which became 17 when the six-year-old gelding Malevolent finished unplaced later in the day.
Clements' father Brian said the gelding, who was purchased for $2000 in an online auction, had obviously been looking for 'wetter ground'.
"The breeding was good and he's only been racing on hard tracks," he said.
"On the mother's side he's a wet tracker and the Nostradamus horses are good horses.
"(The recent jump-out) was more than encouraging. Brendan rode him himself and he's 11 stone, so he looked pretty good when the other ones around him were only eight or nine stone."
As his father was quick to point out, Clements had a previous short stint as a trainer in Perth and trained 'a few city winners'.
Brendan (Clements) as a rider prior to training was an amazing judge and for him to come out and say he thought this horse was going pretty good, he's run accordingly.
- John Keating
Keating's eighth Victorian win of the season followed three and a swag of placings across two days at Birdsville on April 10 and 11 and a winner for Seymour trainer Gordon Strang aboard Couldbefamous on Kerang Cup day last Saturday.
The 49-year-old, who was making his fourth trip to Birdsville in the past 10 years, spoke glowingly of the experience.
"I drove up there on my own and it was a good fun trip," he said.
"I had a few little hiccups along the way in the trip, but it was a pretty cruisy trip.
"It was 40-degrees at the races, so it was quite warm and the night-time's only got down to about 25.
"It's a really good community atmosphere up there - the racing is quite good. You have horses coming from all over Australia to descend on there.
"It's a real community and I love the fact you get up there - I haven't caught up with so many friends for three or four years because of COVID and it's like we never parted.
"They're all happy to get a winner, it doesn't matter who it is. Whether it's the leading stable or a one-horse camp, everyone is just happy for each other.
"That's what I like about up there and I'm intending to go back again in September and hopefully have a bit more luck."
Keating will have a pair of rides at Kyneton on Saturday aboard the Aftab Shaikh-trained Say an Ave and Prize Lad (David Drever) and one at Ballarat on Sunday aboard Son Of The Sea for Seymour trainer Phillip Campbell.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Download our app on iOS and Android
- Bookmark bendigoadvertiser.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter @BgoAddy
- Follow us on Instagram @bendigoadvertiser
- Join us on Facebook
- Follow us on Google News