Impulse buy turning into a bargain

A TROTTER he had no intention of buying has provided Daryl Crone with his biggest success.

Accompanying a mate to the Nutrien Yearling Sale a couple of years ago, Crone was relaxing near the outside parade ring when a colt caught his eye.

After checking the sale book to find out about the youngster, Crone decided to buy the son of Wishing Stone.

“I was only at the Sale because I drove a mate who wanted to have a few drinks during the afternoon and someone had to get him home,” Crone said.

“I was sitting out back watching them before they went into the ring and saw a nice looking type, so I looked him up and figured I’d buy him.

“It is the most I’ve ever paid for a horse, but he has certainly turned out to be a great buy.”

Fast forward to last night’s Bendigo meeting and the squaregaiter in question – known as Prince Of Rock – has provided Crone with his biggest moment as a trainer by capturing the $125,000 sales series Final.

Driven confidently by Tina Ridis, Prince Of Rock was pushed forward from barrier seven to wrestle the lead from the favourite, The Locomotive.

Allowed to stride along at a steady tempo, the three-year-old completed a metre-and-a-half win from The Locomotive.

Stevie Gee was 29-and-a-half metres away third in 1:57.2 over 2150 metres.

“He’s always shown he had a bit of ability, but couldn’t get strong for some reason,” Crone said. “Then I thought I’d throw him in the deep end by taking him to Menangle for the Derby, which has proven to be a turning point.

“He didn’t have much luck up there but has won his four starts since.

“There are still a few more big races for him, but I will miss some like The Holmfield to give him a bit of a freshen up before the Vicbred starts.”