TRAINER Clinton McDonald has paid tribute to sturdy galloper Second Effort on the eve of his Listed MRC Blethcingly Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield this weekend.
The son of Mossman rates as one of the most consistent and profitable horses in work earning his connections a total of $567,093 in just 29 starts so far.
“He’s done a lot more than most horses … he’s won Group races, good races, and he’s done it well,” McDonald told AAP’s Mike Hedge.
“But I reckon he’s going as well as he ever has … he’s still maturing.”
Second Effort burst to prominence two winters ago when he won four races on end, beginning with a restricted success at the Warrnambool May carnival and ending with an open handicap victory at Moonee Valley.
After two spells and one more open company win in town, Second Effort claimed the first of his two Wangoom Handicaps at Warrnambool and then scored a Group Two success in the PB Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield.
McDonald then set Second Effort for the rare feat of winning at the Warrnambool carnival for a fourth successive year.
“He’d won his maiden at Warrnambool in 2010 and then a benchmark 72 and then the Wangoom,” he said.
“It was always a thought it’d be nice to win a fourth time so we started thinking about another Wangoom.”
The prospect looked remote when Second Effort put in a couple of disappointing runs in Sydney last autumn, but McDonald persisted and was rewarded with the gelding’s preferred slow going for the Wangoom.
In his only run since, Second Effort made strong late ground when third behind Pago Rock and Elite Elle in the Listed Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) two weeks ago.
“For a first-up run without a trial or a jump out it was a nice effort,” he said.
“He just got a little check in the first 50 metres and it squeezed him out the back.”
As well as confirming Second Effort was still up to stakes company, the run showed he didn’t need a downpour to show his best.
“He handles a heavy track, but he can still produce as long as there’s a bit of cut,” he said.
