Udyta Clarke breaks down at Melbourne Derby Day

Amid all the glitz and glamour of Derby Day, the show was stolen by a battling 70-year-old woman trainer dressed humbly in her stable gear.

Udyta Clarke, who has just seven horses in her humble stable, was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing her beloved gelding Rich Charm storm to a stunning victory in the Group 2 TAB Multiplier Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.

After the victory, Mrs Clarke, broke down in tears and could hardly speak after seeing her boy get the better of blue-blood thoroughbreds from some of the world’s elite racing operations.

Rich Charm stormed to a stunning victory at Flemington, Melbourne on Saturday

‘I’m sorry… I can’t speak,’ she said in an interview with after the race.

‘You’ve got no idea what I’ve been through this week… my stomach’s churning, you’ve got no idea the pressure on me today, I nearly put him on the truck and took him home before.’

‘I’ve looked after him like he’s my child,’ she said of her five-year-old gelding.

‘I was up until 1.30am and I’m thinking I just can’t do this.

Ahead of the races at Flemington Mrs Clarke told The Age she arrives at the stables every day at 4.30am to feed the horses and often doesn’t finish until 9pm.

‘They keep me going and they keep me focused,’ she said of her horses.

Mrs Clarke, 70, broke down in tears and could hardly speak as she was so overwhelmed with emotion

‘I’m sorry… I can’t speak,’ she said in an interview with after the race

‘I’ve got no family. What on earth would I do? How would I be without them?’

She is known for sleeping the in the barn with her horses when they have suffered injuries or illness, and treats them like they were her children.