Because his mate Terry Milner was the horse’s real trainer, before he died from cancer in 2019.
But his widow Brenda was at Wangaratta with Archard to share this bittersweet moment as their five-year-old mare finally broke her maiden at her 14th start.
Archard said “the win is one of the most fantastic feelings I’ve had in my training career.”
“I had a tear in my eye as she crossed the line,” he said.
“We went through the ride with Terry and saw firsthand everything he went through.
“The horse kept him going at the times he was struggling. Brenda came to us about six weeks after Terry had gone and asked us to take Dente into our stable.
“It was a real honour and I’m thrilled to have been able to win this one for Terry.”
Brenda admitted it was hard to keep her emotions in check when it had dawned on her what had just happened.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for over 12 months,” she said.
“Daryl has done a terrific job of getting to this point and I don’t think I could have asked anyone better to take over Terry’s work.
“We’re extremely grateful to Daryl and his family for what they’ve done for us.”
The journey to get to November 12 could be likened to a rollercoaster – it had many ups and downs.
In her two previous starts before Wangaratta, the mare had recorded two second place finishes.
Archard just knew the big moment was getting closer.
And a change in the saddle, Maddison Lloyd was on board on Thursday, proved to be a winner.
The stars aligned for Lloyd on the day as she rode three winners.
“I thought Maddison was terrific,” Archard said.
“It’s always good when you can break the duck and hopefully Dente can kick on from here.”
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