Damian’s life’s in the fast (Caulfield) lane

South West jockey Damian Lane had one of the best weekends in his career, riding a Group 1 winner as well as coming second in the prestigious $2m Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

In one of the biggest race days in Australia, Lane held his nerve and rode three-year-old Kementari from box 10 to second place in the Guineas.

Lane and the James Cummings-trained thoroughbred sat well in second at the 400m mark and finished behind surprise winner Mighty Boss, who was paying $101 for the victory.

The 23-year-old jockey soon turned disappointment into glory, riding Tosen Stardom to victory in the $500,000 United Petroleum Toorak Handicap (1600m).

It was the seven-year-old’s first Group 1 victory and continued Lane’s strong start to the big Spring Carnival.

The former Japanese horse was a $10 chance before the race, but looked a cut above the rest and finished a length ahead of second-placed Sovereign Nation.

Soundness issues meant the galloper had raced just six times in 18 months in Australia before Saturday’s big race.

Lane continued his fantastic weekend with a win on Rock ‘n’ Gold in the $100,000 Procon Developments Apache Cat Classic (1000m) at Cranbourne.

The seven-year-old bay gelding won by three-quarters of a length from Danuki after hitting the turn in fifth and powering to strong victory.

Lane will now wait to see if he gets a ride in Saturday’s $3m Caulfield Cup (2400m).