Jockey Glen Boss celebrated a special moment when Turffontein scored a hard-fought victory in the Group One Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield but for the connections of two other runners it was a case of what might have been.As the field jumped in Saturday's feature, the Mark Riley-trained $5.50 second favourite Gold Salute was left stranded when he reared up and got his leg over the barriers while in the gate next door Estee, trained by Lee Freedman, was also prevented from getting a clean star

Jockey Glen Boss celebrated a special moment when Turffontein scored a hard-fought victory in the Group One Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield but for the connections of two other runners it was a case of what might have been.

As the field jumped in Saturday's feature, the Mark Riley-trained $5.50 second favourite Gold Salute was left stranded when he reared up and got his leg over the barriers while in the gate next door Estee, trained by Lee Freedman, was also prevented from getting a clean start.

Stewards opened an inquiry into the incident and declared both gallopers non-runners.

While Freedman is a Hall Of Fame trainer with more than 100 Group One winners to his name, for Riley it was a rare shot at the elite level and a particular disappointment.

"I don't get that many chances in a race like this," Riley lamented.

"It will be a miracle if this horse hasn't hurt his leg."

Riley was critical that Gold Salute wasn't vetted when he first reared in the gates.

Jockey Mark Pegus, who only recently returned from a cracked shoulder and broken wrist, was thrown to the back of the stall when Gold Salute reared again and like many on track, Riley thought it was a false start when the gates opened.

Gold Salute didn't take part in the race and Estee missed the start at least six lengths and was never a factor.

Trained by Anthony Cummings, Turffontein finished third to Orange County in last year's Rupert Clarke Stakes but Glen Boss rode a more aggressive race on the injury-prone five-year-old on Saturday to land his first Victorian Group One since settling in Melbourne last November.

He said Turffontein's win was nearly two months in the making and had taken a lot of work by himself and Cummings' assistant trainer Graham Woolston.

"The last six or seven weeks he (Turffontein) has been our project," Boss said.

"Every time he has stepped out to do a bit of work he has done it better and his mindset today was right on the job."

Turffontein raced to the lead at the top of the straight and held off late challenges from Stickpin ($41) and favourite Raffaello ($5.00) to score a three-quarter length victory.

"It is difficult re-establishing yourself in another place but I was prepared for that and I have been doing the hard yards and working my butt off," Boss said as he soaked up his triumph.

Woolston said the five-year-old stallion was a gladiator who refused to lie down despite the many problems he has had with his joints and feet throughout his career.

"He deserves this win," Woolston said.

Woolston said Turffontein would be nominated for next Friday night's Group One Manikato Stakes (1200m) under lights at Moonee Valley and that the Flemington sprints were also on his program.

Last year Turffontein just failed to win his first Group One race when second to Swick in the Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington on the last day of the Melbourne Cup carnival.