PROBLEM child Irish Arthur repaid Inverell trainer Brodie Fenton’s hard work and patience with an impressive win in the 950m Elders Insurance and Boland Petroleum Maiden Handicap at Moree on Saturday.
Ace hoop Clayton Gallagher settled Irish Arthur ($3.40) in fourth spot behind the leaders before peeling three- and four-wide on the home turn.
The four-year-old extended down the running to score by a half-length from Jane Clement’s Hefty Price ($5), with Kevin Dixon’s rank outside Sunset Drive ($26) more than three lengths away third.
Fenton, with only two horses in work at Inverell, said Irish Arthur was a work in progress.
“It’s taken a lot of hard work to get him this far,” Fenton said.
“He’s a got a few problems upstairs but we’re slowly working him out and getting on top of them.
“This horse can gallop when he wants to,” he said.
Gallagher, who won earlier on Cossack Warrior for Tamworth trainer Cody Morgan, said Irish Arthur was impressive.
“He’s a big, raw horse and it was all a matter of keeping him balanced,” Gallagher said.
“He seems to throw his legs about a lot, so I tried to keep it like a track gallop for him.
“I let him find his own gears without really busting him. There’s a lot of improvement in the horse, but he’s still learning,” he said.
Gallagher also won the Coates Hire Maiden Plate on short-priced favourite Cossack Warrior.
The $1.20 pop led throughout to win by nine lengths from Paul Wallace’s Spruce ($5) and Sally Torrens’ Rose Basket ($71).
“He was impressive as well,” Gallager said.
“I rode him last start when he didn’t have blinkers and he seemed the type of horse that was ‘waiting’ for the others a bit. Blinkers this time paid off.”
