Zac Chappenden feels a strong sense of luck – both good and bad – was at play during an extraordinary few moments at the Ararat races on Monday night.
The 20-year-old reinsman looked to have the Ararat RSL 3YO Maiden Pace shot to pieces with the Emma Stewart-trained Burton, holding a length advantage as he charged into the last 100m of the race.
But things quickly took a turn for the worst when the seat broke away from the sulky and left Chappenden clinging to the reins as he was dragged over the finish line along the ground.
It presented a remarkable opportunity for Peter Craven and Bettorpatchmeup, who snuck home along the inside to score victory by a metre-and-a-half.
If snatching defeat from the jaws of victory wasn’t hard enough to take, the young driver still had trouble to avoid. He let go of the reins and tumbled shortly after the post, somehow avoiding Howsweetthesound who charged through the line for fifth. He also needed some fancy footwork to dodge Adora Joh and Feelingoodfreddie before making his way to see the on-track medics.
“I thought I still had it in the bag and then all of a sudden I was upside down,” he said.
“I tried to hold on for as long as I could, and luckily I held on past the finish post so I still got declared a runner.”
Chappenden said he barely had time to see the first horse – Howsweetthesound – rush past him.
“I don’t know if he saw me either, I think we were just lucky enough to not be in the paths of each other,” he said.
“The others steered to the inside and I went out, so that was lucky. And I was just lucky I got through a gap.
“I just got a couple of grazes and bruises, but that’s it.”
The irony of the name of the horse Chappenden next drove on the Ararat card wasn’t lost on him either.
He teamed up with seven-year-old gelding Hit The Track – trained by his girlfriend Amy Cargill – and ran a close second in the Acacia Caravan Park Pace.
While it was a tough night at the office, the laid-back Chappenden is happy to have escaped serious injury and hopes to be partnering Burton to his maiden victory soon.
“It was bad luck and good luck at the same time,” he said.
“I got every bit of luck I could get, both bad and good.”
