A split-second decision to switch to the outside instead of sweating for a rails run made all the difference between winning and losing, or even worse, for gutsy Saturday winner Iron Ruler.
After enjoying a cosy run in fourth place right behind Legacy Excel (Manoel Nunes) in the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1600m, jockey Marc Lerner opted to go around two runners at the home turn.
Had he stayed on the fence, there is every chance he might have struck interference with Legacy Excel, who unfortunately broke down upon straightening to quickly come back through the field, luckily without seriously hampering anyone.
Upfront, Iron Ruler ($11) quickly mastered Royalty (Koh Teck Huat), but had to foil a stout challenge from the lunging King Louis (Matthew Kellady) before prevailing by a head. Sun Palace (Faiz Khair) ran third another 2 ¼ lengths away.
The winning time was 1min 38.74secs for the Polytrack mile.
Lerner, who rode Iron Ruler at his last two starts for a third and a second, was counting his lucky stars he had picked his way out of potential trouble.
"I was right behind Manoel's horse, and as I went around upon straightening, I saw his horse break down. I'm glad I was still not behind him when that happened," said the French jockey.
"He's been running well, his last run was very encouraging. He was looking for a race like that, coming back to the Polytrack, and the field was quite moderate."
Clements, who saddled an earlier winner in odds-on favourite Alqantur , delegated the job of greeting their second winner to assistant-trainer Michael White.
"This horse has been showing good consistency in his races," said White.
"Today he got the right run and got the job done. We don't have any grandiose plans for him, just look around for a similar race."
A five-year-old by Dissident, Iron Ruler has now taken his smart record to five wins and eight placings from 27 starts for prizemoney around the $220,000 mark for the Falcon Racing No 7 Stable.
It was not only Clements who was at the double as Lerner later followed suit with a second winner of his own, the Hideyuki Takaoka-trained Etwas Neues ($22) in the $30,000 Class 5 race over 1700m.
