Racing employee across lake, go direct (6,3)
I believe the answer is:
stable lad
'racing employee' is the definition.
'across lake go direct' is the wordplay.
'across' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'lake' becomes 'l'.
'go' becomes 'stab' (both can mean an attempt**).
'direct' becomes 'lead' ('lead' can be a synonym of 'direct').
'stab'+'lead'='stablead'
'l' put into 'stablead' is 'STABLE LAD'.
(Other definitions for stable lad that I've seen before include "Young worker with horses" , "Groom" , "Boy tending horses" , "One working with string" , "Would-be jockey" .)