“Connor Clarke got it into a lovely spot and he sustained the run to win it.”
Race caller Dan Mieliecki’s words will be heard many times over by young reinsman Connor Clarke, having welcomed in his first victory in the sulky, a result that, though he’s still only in his early days, felt a long time in the making for the trots fanatic.
“It was a massive thrill, especially after 20 or so drives and a couple of months and being so close several times,” he told Talking Trots on SENTrack today.
The breakthrough moment came at Clarke’s home track, Ballarat, on Friday night when the 16-year-old claimed the Sinclair Meats Pace on Struve for trainer and employer Emma Stewart.
“It’s just a surreal feeling winning your first race, coming across the line first,” he said. “It’s hard to explain the feeling really, you just get butterflies. The excitement, even after the race, watching the replays of the horse coming across the line – it still doesn’t feel real.”
Here’s what Ballarat youngster Connor Clarke has to say after driving his first winner @Bdtc150 on Friday night. Big thrill for a kid who has gone through so much. @TheTrotsComAu pic.twitter.com/5CN1hhCmw0
— Ballarat & District Trotting Club (@Bdtc150) April 18, 2020
Clarke had enjoyed plenty of first placings during a significant Pony Trots Victoria career, a commitment that was interrupted in 2017 when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
He said his love of the sport and the want to one-day compete against his trots heroes was always a driving force.
“Fighting (cancer) was tough, but always in my head, the trots were always my main aim,” he said.
“I kept focused, kept on the bright side, came out the other side and once I went back to school and finished Year 10 it was always coming and working for someone.
“That ended up luckily being Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin, which gave me a very nice opportunity to drive Struve Friday night and hopefully a few more to come.”
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