Patience Pays Off: Clark’s G1 Breakthrough 30 Years in the Making
By Brad Reid
The Robert and Jenna Dunn-trained Mighty Logan (Creatine) delivered a career highlight for lifelong harness racing man Barry Clark when storming to victory in the Group One Anzac Cup at Alexandra Park on Friday night.
The six-year-old gelding, co-bred and co-owned by Barry and his sister Diane, left no doubt about his arrival in the Open Class ranks, putting four lengths on a quality field in the $100,000 feature.
Mighty Logan and John Dunn cruise to G1 victory at Alexandra Park
Clark wasn’t trackside to see it in person, but that didn’t dampen the occasion.
“We just stayed at home and watched the race, but it was a great thrill — not just to be in a Group One, but to win it like that,” said Clark. “Had a lot of lovely messages and notes from people I’ve known a long time. It brought back a lot of fond memories of racing the good ones with Dad and my uncle.”
Those “good ones” trace back through a rich family tapestry. Barry’s father Euan — better known as Tom Clark — trained in partnership with Barry through the 80s and 90s, clocking 20 wins together, 18 of which Barry drove. The family’s involvement goes back four generations, punctuated by major wins in the sport’s biggest trotting races.
“Dad won the Dominion with Logan Count in 1968 — Leicester, my uncle, was the driver that day. He’d trained the Dominion winner Mighty Chief just three years earlier.”
Barry came close himself, placing third in the Rowe Cup with Firm Offer back in the day. Fast forward three decades, and it’s Mighty Logan — a horse with family ties tracing back to the mighty Landora’s Pride — giving the Clark name another crack at immortality.
“He’s come a long way in a short time,” Clark said, reflecting on Mighty Logan’s rapid rise through the grades in 2024. “He started the year a rating 55 horse and ended it among the top dozen aged trotters in the country.”
Mighty Logan was a slow burn. A big, lanky type as a youngster, Clark gave him time and handed the early breaking-in duties to Dean Taylor, who managed to get three wins on the board before the gelding was transferred to Woodend Beach.
“Dean did a great job with him and has done a lot of work with my horses over the years. I always thought the beach would suit him though. He’s a big horse and I was always a bit worried about him breaking down. The change in environment really helped him.”
The Dunn stable have made a habit of unlocking potential in late-maturing trotters like Aardiebythehill and Mataderos, and Mighty Logan has slotted neatly into that mould. After a couple of sharp wins at headquarters, he went within a head of winning the Listed Sires Stakes Aged Classic, running down the track late behind Bet N Win.
That run set up a campaign that would include five wins and six placings from 15 starts — form that would inevitably take him north on the back of a fantastic fresh up run for 2nd off 30m in the Sires Stakes Aged Class a fortnight ago.
The northern sojourn may have come 12 months earlier however that was deferred as the son of Creatine learned to race clockwise.
“Last year we were going to take him up, but he just couldn’t go around the other way. Wouldn’t steer properly. So we turned him out, gave him time to mature and strengthen up. This time, he’s handling it perfectly. John’s really got the best out of him and you saw that Friday night.”
Despite not being hands-on anymore, Clark says the feeling is just as special.
“It’s a funny feeling not training or driving him, but it’s incredibly rewarding. It’s just great.”
A few sharp punters — Clark included — spotted the $20 odds on opening and weren’t shy about taking a nibble, as the price crunched into $7.50 by start time.
Barry Clark dusts off his driving silks at home
As for what lies ahead, the Rowe Cup looms large.
“I think he’ll be even better this week. That was only his second run back and his first time going that way at speed. Most horses take a couple of runs to get used to Auckland. He’s got options — he can roll forward or come off one. Either way, it’s shaping to be a great race.”
The Rowe Cup brings back memories of Firm Offer, who Clark trained in partnership with his father and drove to a third place finish in the iconic staying test. Mighty Logan offers a shot at going two better — and with a sentimental link too.
“The mare who beat us into second that day was Landora’s Pride — who happens to be the great-granddam of Mighty Logan.”
Clark picked up Landora’s Siesta, a granddaughter of the great mare, at the 2008 yearling sales from Brian West’s Studholme Bloodstock draft for just $800.
“She was a tough filly, but didn’t really want to be a racehorse. Most of the Sundons we bred out of her didn’t want to trot either. The first had speed but broke down. The rest never made it off the property!”
Mighty Logan, her sixth and final foal, is her only winner. But what a legacy to leave behind.
MIGHTY LOGAN | ANZAC CUP REPLAY
When Mighty Logan broke maiden ranks in 2023, Clark pointed out he had a way to go to match the best horse he’d bred: Logan Dryham.
“He beat Roydon Glen six times,” Clark said. “I got injured driving him in that Derby smash-up in ’84 — did my shoulder. Naval Officer won the race and poor old Charlie Hunter had his last ever drive that day too.”
But even Clark now admits: the crown’s been passed.
“That win the other night — yeah, I think he’s definitely the best I’ve bred.”
And if he goes two better than Firm Offer in the Rowe Cup on Friday?
“Well, that would just be something really special.”
As for what’s next?
“I haven’t bred one for a couple of years, but I bought a nice yearling out of Emma Hamilton at the sales — another by Creatine. Lovely colt, and he’s done everything right so far.”
Barry Clark — proving that good horses, and good stories, are always worth the wait.
