Debut wins in Parker’s Moruya double

Parker trained a winning double at the far south coast track as first-starters Dark Dream and The Houso both broke through.

Dark Dream kicked off what was a solid day out for the Kembla horseman with a gutsy victory in the Club Dalmeny Staff Christmas Party Handicap (1425m).

Dark Dream got the better of Theresa Bateup’s Jarrett in the final strides after the pair staged an epic duel in the straight. 

“He is a big raw bugger, but I do quite like the horse and think he can go through his grades,” Parker told Sky Thoroughbred Central. 

“He still has a bit to learn. He dug in deep and kept grinding away.”

Jockey Jon Grisedale landed three wide from the widest barrier, but opted to push forward to sit outside Bateup’s odds-on commodity on the speed. 

When they hit the go on the turn, the leading pair comfortably put a gap on Norm Gardiner’s Ultraviolet in third. 

“I got posted wide so I had to go forward on him, but he really knuckled down later and hit the line strong,” Grisedale said.

The Houso showed similar will to win on debut.

The five-year-old, which was well-supported late in the betting, was lumped with the top weight at his first race start. But he was still able to fight on strongly on speed to claim the Happy 50^th Birthday Steve Knight Maiden Plate (920m). 

“The main concern was the 59kgs because he is only little, and had the pressure of raceday. But he dug deep and was in for the fight,” Parker said. 

“He did a good job and it was good to get a result for the owners.”