If David Walker ever wondered why he took himself to Melbourne for six months in 1997, he doesn't have to anymore.
It has landed him the ride on Cent Home for an Australian campaign worth nearly $A3 million.
The 24-year-old underrated rider was looking for overseas experience when he finished his apprenticeship, but had no plans or even contacts when he arrived in Melbourne unheralded at the start of the 1997 spring carnival.
He failed to ride a city winner, but he brought home something much more important - knowledge of Flemington, Caulfield and Moonee Valley.
"I rode seven or eight winners in the provincials and even though the horses I rode in the city were not winning chances, you learn a lot about the courses."
Walker thinks a lot deeper than he gives the impression of at times and his astuteness and patience got Cent Home to the line first in the $100,000 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes on Saturday.
"I thought the 1400m might be a fraction short for him, but I balanced that with the fact that there were not a lot of 1400m specialists in the race."
Walker did not panic when things went wrong with Cent Home being shuffled back along the rails to a bit worse than mid-field in the run down the back straight.
"He was never out of trouble at that stage, but at least when I pulled him out in the home straight he got a clear run."
Walker was impressed with the win - "he blew out in the last 100m" - and says he still has no idea how good the horse is.
The ceiling has not been reached.
"He's still learning to race. He's done everything he's been asked to do so far.
"He has still to prove he can win at group one level in Australia, but we're about to find out.
"The impressive thing is he is so inexperienced yet he is still too good for the horses he meets here.
"The one thing we definitely don't know for sure is whether he'll settle well enough to run out 2400m over there."
The 2040m of the Kelt Capital Stakes is as far as Cent Home has raced, but that day he gave every impression he would have gone the extra distance and with another year on him and some hard racing leading into the $A2 million Caulfield Cup, there is every chance.
There were plenty of improvers behind Cent Home on Saturday. Kaapstad Way looked good making ground nicely, even though finishing only ninth, and Integrate (fourth), Cinder Bella (sixth) and Aerosmith (seventh) all produced top efforts.
Racing: Inside knowledge proves useful
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