Barclay stars with four wins at Invercargill

By Jonny Turner 

Brent Barclay wound the clock back nearly 20 years with his quartet of wins at Ascot Park on Wednesday.

The Winton horseman put on a driving clinic when scoring with Anita Mary, Bring On The Muscle, Always B Bootie and Side Hustle.

The only shame is Barclay hasn’t got any drives at Oamaru on Thursday.

The last time the reinsman was in such hot form, which was back in June of 2006, he kept it going.

“I think the last time I drove four winners was at Forbury Park,” Barclay said.

“I had five drives and won with four of them, then the next day I won the Sapling Stakes with Jackson Street and a Nevele R heat with Pam Bromac.”

Barclay doesn’t chase drives like he did two decades ago but he still rates among the south’s finest reinsmen.

Last year he ticked over 900 career wins and admitted he wasn’t sure whether he had 1000 wins in his sights.

However, with momentum like yesterday he looks a massive chance of joining fellow Southlanders Clark Barron and Nathan Williamson in the elite club.

Barclay and Barron teamed up to score with Bring On The Muscle, who overcame a 40m back mark to win the feature trot at Ascot Park.

In winning, the trotter boosted his chances of heading to the inaugural running of the Harness 5000 at Ashburton next month.

“That has been the long-term goal for him, so long as he is going well enough,” Barron said.

“The thinking was he needed his last start, so he had a workout last weekend and he was good today.”

“He has been a horse that has had a few little things along the way that have meant he hasn’t shown his best.”

“When he has been off back marks in the past he has been on his own and he’s been unsettled.”

“But there were three of them back there today and they all went nice races.”

Barclay and partner Lauren Pearson produced Always B Bootie to score in his first start since July.

The pacer impressed in a recent workout and was able to speed past a field of race-hardened rivals to win.

Barclay and Pearson’s stable star Duchess Of Kent is on her way back to Canterbury after campaigning at the top level.

The filly ran third in the Group 1 Nevele R Fillies Final before disappointing in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks.

After coming through that race well, Duchess Of Kent will now be aimed at the Canada Stakes on Invercargill Cup Day.