But amid the turmoil of the past months, he can now see the level of support and guidance awarded to problem horses worthy of investment, is sometimes lacking for the people on the outer edges of the racing industry.

The 54-year-old has prided himself on taking on the unrideables, the rogues, the beasts that seemingly couldn’t be tamed.

After all, horses required a good education, and an even better attitude, to ultimately flourish on race day and be “exceptionally good”.

“I’ve had a couple of good horses over the years, a couple that had lost their way,” Clarke toldthe NT News.

“Basically getting somebody else’s problem and fixing it, it gives you a bit of satisfaction.

“You get a horse that was going nowhere and was doing nothing, or a bit of an outlaw, you put your time in and get it on track ... it’s pretty satisfying.”

One in particular, Engrossing, was a “very talented” horse but was an “absolute lunatic” while ridden.

“When he lost his marbles, he was a scary ride. They gave up on him basically, nobody could ride him,” he said.

However, Clarke turned Engrossing into a winner: “They have to enjoy what they’re doing, which is the key.”

Enjoyment has been a hard thing to come by of late for one of the NT’s greatest trainers. Clarke was about to attend a friend’s funeral when he caught up with the NT News, just months after farewelling Guy, whose death is perhaps emblematic of a wider issue in the racing game.

While understandably downcast, Clarke is also thankful that his business Clarke Racing Stables is still afloat — it simply would have fallen apart if not for the “extremely good” support of his staff.

“It’s been extremely difficult,” Clarke said of recent days,” he said.

“There’s a lot of different feelings floating around in my gut.”

However, Clarke is eager for racing fans to see him as the husband and father who has endured his fair share of trauma, rather than just the nine-time champion.

“People never really know the dark side,” he said. “I could sit here for a long time and tell you the bad things.”

Clarke said Guy’s troubles could be traced back decades.

Burdened by mental health issues from a young age, the right medication had helped “enormously”.

But he was prone to mistakenly thinking he had the black dog beat, and then go without medical help.

It would inevitably lead him to sliding back into a dark hole “over, and over and over again”.

“We’ve always had to look out for him. Make sure he wasn’t getting off the rails,” he said.

“I’ve seen Guy lock himself in his room for five days, and only come out to eat.”

However, his son’s life took a darker turn when he was suspended for 18 months by Thoroughbred Racing NT for punching a jockey.

Then, in early 2021, the champion bronco rider received a suspended, six-month jail term after pleading guilty to aggravated assault.

Clarke said his son’s mental descent was all too common in the racing game.

He said successful riders such as Neil Williams, Keith Mahoney and NT jockey David Pisani, had also taken their lives.

“I’m sure there’s a hell of a lot more,” he said.

“Once it happens it’s put away, it’s not talked about or anything like that.

“When (Williams and Mahoney) got to the point they weren’t really successful they just couldn’t deal with that and they both took their own lives.”

It’s perhaps why Clarke misses the adrenaline of racing, but not the pressure of maintaining a jockey’s svelte weight.

“The only time I would have a full meal would be Sunday, Monday, sometimes into Tuesday, depending on my weight,” he said.

“After that it was just back to fruit and vegetables. Twice a day, rather than three times a day.”

Ultimately, Clarke believes there is a lack of support in racing.

When one of his stable’s jockeys, Simone Montgomerie, tragically fell and died at the 2013 at the Darwin Cup, he was contacted immediately by the Australian Jockeys Association.

But that level of support was not forthcoming from the Darwin Turf Club when Guy died, Clarke believed.

“It makes me feel a little bit angry. There was just nothing, not even a phone call,” he said.

That fall had long lasting repercussions for the Clarke family, with Gary essentially blocking his daughter Ella’s ambitions to become a jockey.

“She’s always loved the racing … but I didn’t allow it,” he said

“(Montgomerie’s death) had a big impact on what I let my daughter do and what I didn’t let my daughter do.

“Whenever she raised it, I sort of dismissed it straight away, pretty bluntly.

“I wouldn’t allow it, because we’ve had a bit of trauma over the years. As a father I just couldn’t …”

Montgomerie’s death was just one of a few incidents that tested his affection, and place, within the sport.

“It was a pretty hard period … because she was pretty much part of the family,” he said.

“It’s something you never really come to terms with, you just deal with it.

“The thought crossed my mind (to quit). (I thought) what am I doing?”

Clarke remains “a little bit angry” at the Darwin Turf Club.

Clarke is now slowly moving towards the next phase of life, away from an industry which can be “cruel”.

“Only the top five per cent make money out of the industry,” he said.

“(But) once you’re not up here anymore, you’re just cut off, people just forget about you.

And I’m prepared for that.”

It’s why Clarke is planning to pass the business baton over to his daughter, Ella.

Several gold mining leases form part of his “Plan B”, which he is inching closer towards.

“I could step away today,” he said.

“I’d sooner keep it going to the point where (Ella) can just take it over.

“That’s if she chooses to. It would be really hard for her if we just stepped away, left her on her own.

“She’s struggling a lot at the moment.”

Most of all though, Clarke wants the racing industry to better care for its own.

He lost close friend, Alice Springs jockey Tom Arnold, to suicide.

Clarke said his achievements had been forgotten due to his unfortunate end.

“He’s never been mentioned since,” he said.

“Mental health needs to be heard. Heard and not ignored like it is in the racing industry.”

In a joint statement, the Darwin Turf Club and Thoroughbred Racing NT said they took mental health very seriously and were well equipped to assist.

“(We again wish) to offer its sincere condolences to the Clarke family at this very difficult time.”

Lifeline 13 11 14. Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.