The Clinton McDonald-trained Second Effort maintained his unbeaten record on wet tracks when he won the Listed Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool, edging out comeback mare Wealth Princess.
The five-year-old is unbeaten in three starts at the Warrnambool May carnival having also won there in 2010 and 2011.
He has won seven out of seven on slow and heavy going and gave Danny Nikolic his second Wangoom, 21 years after he first claimed it aboard Beaver Called.
Second Effort ($3.50 fav) and the Darren Weir-trained Wealth Princess ($4.60), who hadn’t raced for nearly two years due to tendon problems, had a great battle to the line with Second Effort finding plenty under pressure on the outside to prevail by a half-head.
Last year’s Winter Championship Final winner Glaneuse ($26) was 1-1/4 lengths away third.
“He’s a terrific horse. We set him for this race 12 months ago and it’s good that it’s come off,” McDonald said of Second Effort who has won eight of his 19 starts and over $300,000 prizemoney.
The Caulfield trainer said he didn’t know which rider to engage for the mount with both Nikolic and Glen Boss, who rode the gelding to a first-up win at Caulfield last month, considered.
“I’m good mates with both and I didn’t want to pick a rider so we tossed a coin and Danny won,” McDonald said.
“I feel for Glen not having the ride but no doubt we’ll make it somewhere.”
Nikolic said McDonald and his parents, Ross and Margaret McDonald, had been great supporters of him throughout his career.
“Especially over the last couple of years when things have been a bit hit-and-miss but they stuck fat with me,” Nikolic said.
“He’s a real little trier who really appreciates the give in the ground.
“He’s been a slow maturer but he’s really improved.
“It’s beyond him to win a Liston (now the P B Lawrence Stakes) or a race like that early in the spring.
“(But) I’ve always thought he’d get a strong seven to a mile (1400m to 1600m) anyway.”
Weir, who has won four races over the first two days of the May carnival, was denied the trainers’ bonus – a $43,000 Mercedes Benz vehicle – when Gotta Take Care was runner-up in the Galleywood Hurdle and Wealth Princess was narrowly beaten in the Wangoom.
He has the opportunity to pull off the required feature win on Wednesday with Pay The Aces in the Grand Annual and Magnifique Soleil and third emergency Hurdy Gurdy Man in the Warrnambool Cup.
