On Saturday, trainer Kerry Petrick and jockey Paul Denton celebrated their 98th win together when $19 prospect Venting took out the $135,000 Ladbrokes NT Derby (2050m) at Fannie Bay.
They’re also close friends, so was it any wonder they embraced affectionately in celebration in the mounting yard after the race – the feature on Day 4 of the Darwin Cup Carnival.
For Denton, it was a special moment as it marked 25 years since he last won the NT Derby aboard the David Balfour-trained Rocket Flight.
Over the years, Petrick and Denton have enjoyed unqualified success throughout the NT – regardless of whether they have either based themselves in Darwin or Alice Springs.
Petrick is from Alice Springs and her mother, Meredith, was a trainer in the Red Centre.
Kerry started training 26 years ago and her first runner was ridden by Denton, who had already relocated to the NT from South Australia.
Petrick and Denton won their first race together in Darwin on February 8, 1997, with Better Western.
Denton, who has ridden a litany of feature winners during the Darwin Cup and Alice Springs Cup carnivals, is 58 years of age and is riding as well as ever.
Currently based in Alice Springs, he sits behind Stan Tsaikos in second place in the Alice Springs jockeys’ premiership with 28 wins for the 2021/22 season.
Victory aboard Venting made it six wins for the season for Denton in the Top End.
“Kerry and Paul have had a long association,” Thoroughbred Racing Northern Territory chief executive officer Andrew O’Toole said from Darwin on Sunday.
“Venting was just the best stayer, it was an impressive win.
“I met Kerry and Paul when I arrived in the Red Centre as chief executive officer of the Alice Springs Turf Club.
“Paul’s been a great rider for a long time.
“He’s won all the majors, all the features.
“He was champion jockey in Darwin for a number of years.
“He and David Bates used to share the title here back in the late 1990s and into the 2000s, so he’s been around for ages.”
Most of the three-year-olds in the 12-horse field on Saturday were running over 2050m for the first time, although the Billy Healey-trained Rising Fire had finished second over 2000m on the Sunshine Coast before arriving in Darwin.
Up until 2019 the Derby was contested over 2000m, while in 2020 it was raced over 1600m because of the COVID pandemic.
Some horses just can’t get the trip, while others seem to grow wings.
Having competed mostly on grassed surfaces in other states, visiting horses – regardless of their progeny or age – are either rocks or diamonds on Fannie Bay’s sand-based track.
Venting made his debut in Victoria for Flemington trainer Danny O’Brien in August last year, when he got the cash in a 1400m maiden at Bendigo.
That was followed by a fourth in a three-year-old open handicap over 1500m a month later at Moonee Valley and the future seemed promising.
Two weeks later, the Star Witness gelding could only finish 12th against his own age group over 1800m at Flemington and was sent to the paddock.
A fifth over 1400m (Class 1) and an eighth over 1600m (0-64) at Pakenham, as well as a fifth over 1875m (0-58) at Kyneton in February and March marked the end of his Victorian career for the time being.
Venting was then transferred to the stable of Andrew Bobbin and never ended up racing for the Stawell trainer before winding up in the NT under the guidance of Petrick.
A first up seventh over 1200m (0-66) behind Noble War at Fannie Bay on June 25 was followed by an encouraging second over 1600m (0-62) behind Wicked Addiction a week out from the Derby.
Jumping from the outside gate on Saturday, Venting settled outside the $3.90 second favourite Rising Fire (Paul Shiers) and $21 hope Sirocco Gale (Casey Hunter) at the rear of the field passing the winning post for the first time.
Venting gradually improved going up the side of the track and turning into the back straight, and by the 1000m he was sitting three wide in the middle of the pack.
Significantly, Venting didn’t look inconvenienced and by the 800m he was six lengths adrift of the leader and $3.70 favourite Wolfburn (Jarrod Todd) – the impressive winner of the Darwin Guineas (1600m) a fortnight ago.
The gaps started to appear down the side approaching the 600m and fifth-placed Venting was definitely building momentum.
He clearly had Wolfburn, Max Fire (Vanessa Arnott), Pacadow (Wayne Davis) and Starlite Valley (Sairyn Fawke) in his sights approaching the final turn.
Swinging into the home straight and with 350m left to go Venting was finishing with a wet sail and his only concern was the Gary Clarke-trained Wolfburn, who still held a three-length advantage.
Wolfburn basically led from start to finish to win the Guineas and was once again the pilot after jumping from gate nine in the Derby, but by the 200m he was labouring and Venting swooped to seal victory by two and three quarter lengths.
Venting stopped the clock at 2.05.57 for the 2050m – well short of the track record of 2.03.89 set by the Nicole Irwin-trained Highly Decorated in the 2021 Darwin Cup.
Rising Fire finished third with his performance basically mirroring the Guineas, where he sat back before working his way into the race, but in his quest to pursue Venting and Wolfburn in the home straight he seemingly had nothing left in the tank.
He finished seven and a half lengths adrift of Wolfburn.
Jason Manning’s Max Fire, a $16 chance, finally displayed the good form he had produced in South Australia by hanging on for fourth, with Tayarn Halter’s Sirocco Gale covering plenty of ground along the rails to finish fifth after coming fifth in the Guineas.
Defeat for the gallant Wolfburn meant that it has now been 26 years since a horse has won the Triple Crown during the Darwin Cup Carnival.
Brinney (1989) and Ventilago (1996) achieved the feat with victory in the Guineas, Derby and Darwin Cup.
With success in the Guineas and Derby, Wolfburn’s connections stood to win a $100,000 bonus with victory in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) on August 1.
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