River Patrol etched his name into the modern-day annals as the oldest race winner in the state when he saluted at Melton on Friday night at the ripe old age of 15.
Lining up for his 298th trip to the races, River Patrol showed his customary early speed before driver John Caldow elected to take the sit behind Zu Hoffen over the 1720-metre sprint.
When Caldow peeled off the back of the leader at the top of the straight, River Patrol ($19) set off in pursuit with all the zest of a horse half his age and the son of Live Or Die staved off the challenges to score by a metre in a mile rate of 1:58.9.
Trainer Albert Cefai said he was quietly confident of River Patrol chalking up his 19th career win.
“I thought he would go alright as the short distance suited him and he had a good barrier,” Cefai said.
“Because of his gate speed he is always up there, and I never go home disappointed.”
The New Zealand-bred pacer arrived at Cefai’s stables eight years ago.
“He came across as a seven-year-old and I think he’d only won one race,” he said.
Cefai said River Patrol thrives on stable life.
“He is always above himself, and if I don’t take him out onto the track first, he carries on like a two-year-old,” he said.
“He does not much between races. He goes on the jogger, then works for about 20 minutes and then spends the rest of the day out in the paddock on the grass.”
River Patrol is currently enjoying the summer life of the Bellarine Peninsula, according to Cefai.
“I have been holidaying down here at Portarlington for the past 45 years, and I stable the horse at Kelvin Bourke’s property down here where I swim him,” he said.
River Patrol won’t be retiring anytime soon if Cefai’s wife Margaret has any say in it.
“I told my wife that I might give him two more starts to get to 300 then retire him and she started crying,” he said.
Cefai believes the seasoned warrior will determine his own departure from the racetrack.
“He has a terrific nature and is a real gentleman,” he said.
“He loves racing, is easy to work with and he’ll tell me when he’s had enough.”
The win provided Caldow with the middle pin of a winning treble in the sulky, having partnered both Midnight Mojo (trained by his wife Maree) and Montana Chevelle (trained by Shane Hall) to victory.
