Clint Johnston-Porter brings home the feature double at Bunbury Cup meeting thanks to two spectacular rides

Jockey Clint Johnston-Porter took home the feature double at Bunbury Turf Club on Saturday, winning the Listed $150,000 Bunbury Stakes (1400m) on Bonjoy and the Listed $150,000 Bunbury Cup (2000m) aboard Arcadia Park. From the wide draw Johnston-Porter sent Michael Grantham-trained four-year-old gelding Aracdia Park forward in the cup, sliding into a lovely spot one off the fence two pairs back with cover. Going against the pre-race plan, Johnston-Porter took off at the 650m mark, hitting the front by a length with plenty of the race left to run. Barely holding on, Arcadia Park was searching for the line and got there by the barest of margins from the swooping Silver Eye. “It’s a big relief. I didn’t realise I’d won until I saw the camera on me,” Johnston-Porter said, speaking to the Herald after the race. “It’s a good thrill. I’ve had heaps of success on that horse before, won a lot of three-year-old races on him. So I know he’s tough and gritty, and lobbed in a perfect spot early and got to use his well-sustained ability, and took off early and pulled it off.” Horse owner and breeder Bob Peters was happy with Arcadia Park’s performance, telling the Herald “I can’t remember the last one we won a Bunbury Cup”. “After the last run, the conditions didn’t quite suit him, and today he looked ready to me, and he did the job for us,” Peters said. There were some nervous moments for the Peters Investments team during the run when Johnston-Porter took off, with the WA Racing Hall of Fame member one of those with their heart in mouth. “I wasn’t very happy when he hit the front so soon. he hadn’t even got to the corner, and he toughed it out all the way up the straight,” Peters said. “It was never the plan . . . But as it turned out, it worked.” Jockey Johnston-Porter said sometimes you needed to put yourself on the line and make the tough decisions in big moments. “It’s never a plan to take off like that,” he said. “But I guess that’s what I’m out there to do, make the decision. I can imagine he was angry, but in the end, it was the right decision.” Johnston-Porter was able to overcome a slow start in the Bunbury Stakes with Bonjoy to win by an even smaller margin than in the cup only 30 minutes earlier. The Jason Miller-trained six-year-old mare came from last at the corner, flying through gaps to defeat Fast Flicker with a head bob at the finish line. “At the top of the straight, I thought, ‘we’re in a world of pain’,” trainer Jason Miller said. “But CJ just found a way, and she was explosive late.” Johnston-Porter finished with three winners for the day, along with Steven Parnham who also rode a treble of wins.