Beaudesert trainer Darlene Duryea couldn’t stop smiling as the rain tumbled down before her stayer Ongoing Venture ran on Saturday.
The Sunshine Coast received overnight and morning rain, forcing a downgrade in the track rating.
Ongoing Venture ($14) showed his liking for rain-affected going when he outstayed his rivals to win the Coastline BMW 3 Series Handicap.
The gelding hadn’t won since November, 2014 but Duryea had been hoping to get the right type of track for Ongoing Venture.
“He likes the sting out of the track and my confidence grew as the rain came down,” she said.
“I thought with softer going he could win,” she said.
Duryea said Ongoing Venture was an older horse who had a few tricks.
“But he can race well if he gets out of bed in the right mood,” she said.
Ongoing Venture is likely to attempt to win a similar race at Doomben in two weeks.
“They seem to take turns in these races and hopefully it will be his turn a few more times,” Duryea said.
Volkhere led before finishing three lengths back in second and his placing lifted him past $500,000 in prize money.
