Samantha Clenton understands pesky racehorse Nevagotavote better than anyone else.
The apprentice has ridden Nevagotavote to every one of the Newcastle galloper’s six wins and will be out to continue the streak in the tab.com.au Handicap at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Trainer Jason Deamer says Clenton understands how to get the best from Nevagotavote, a horse which “can be a bit of a pest to ride”.
“He doesn’t really have a sprint. He gets his top speed (and) he kind of just keeps going,” Deamer said.
“Some of the jockeys didn’t really understand that you can’t wait for the others to get to him in a race.”
Clenton has four rides at Canterbury, including two for her boss Kris Lees.
But it is Nevagotavote which appears to be her best chance after his last-start win at Gosford on April 14.
Nevagotavote has a perfect record at Canterbury, winning over 1580m before a spell in December.
The horse was ridden by Christian Reith when unplaced in two heats of the rich Provincial Championship series.
And Nevagotavote will bring a unique record to Canterbury for his return to city racing.
Unusually, the five-year-old has two maiden wins to his name after the disqualification of a Darren Smith-trained horse for illegal cobalt levels.
Deamer, a former jockey and licensed trainer of 12 years, says Nevagotavote is the best horse in his 10-strong stable.
“He’s just got a strong will to win,” he said.
A horse which likes to lead in his races, Nevagotavote is drawn to make the running with 55.5kg after Clenton’s 3kg claim.
He shares the second line of betting at $5.50 behind the Chris Waller-trained Now’s The Time.
Now’s The Time broke through for his first Australian win, beating stablemate Springbok Flyer at Warwick Farm.
A Tuesday morning track inspection put the Canterbury track in the soft range.
