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Punch On ($9) got up right on the line to beat Easy Running ($7) by a nose with Sydney filly Happy Hussy ($6) 1-1/4 lengths back third.

Balzen has trained on the Coast for the past 15 years after stints at Doomben and Canterbury and the likeable mentor said the win in the $1 million feature was easily the biggest of his career.

“I’ve won black-type races before but this is clearly the best winner I’ve had,” Balzen said.

“This filly is also the best horse I’ve trained and she will go on and be a very good three-year-old.

“She drew a nice barrier but you always need luck in these big races and I was super confident after they’d gone a hundred metres.”

Paul Hammersley brought Punch On with a perfectly-timed run in the straight to nail Easy Running in the shadows of the post for an impressive win.

“I thought I won by a lot further than that,” Hammersley said.

“My heart was racing on the way back but you don’t get any more for winning by further.”

Easy Running’s rider Damian Browne said the horse ran his heart out and had his chance to win.

“He travelled back off a hectic speed and really sprinted when I asked him to go in the straight,” Browne said.

“I was hoping something might have carried him into the race for a bit longer because he might have got to the front a bit too soon.

“But he dug deep when the other horse got to him and it was a great effort.”

Biggles ($11) ran up to his best to finish fifth and his rider Tim Bell said the horse was a star of the future.

“There wasn’t many horses making ground from back in the field today and he ran super to finish off like he did under 57.5kg,” Bell said.

“He is a very good horse and he’ll be winning a Group race very soon – that is for sure.”

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Winks had been appointed number one stable rider for the Flemington trainer and they combined for Group One wins with the likes of Star Witness (2010 Coolmore Stud Stakes), Douro Valley (2008 Yalumba Stakes) and Absolut Glam (2008 Winter Stakes).

However the partnership didn’t last and Winks found himself on the outer.

“I had six weeks off after the spring two years ago and I’ve probably struggled the last 12 months, but I’m just starting to gather momentum again,” Winks, who is back riding work for O’Brien, said.

“I’m back riding for Danny now and have ridden about four winners since I’ve been back.

“There’s 120 more horses I can ride now that I’m back with him and he’s got quality animals like At The Heads.”

“You’ve got to have the right horse, you see it all the time, so I’ll chip away and do the right thing.

“It’s a matter of working hard and rebuilding the bridges.”

Sent out at $10 in the 1400m feature, At The Heads was having just his second outing in a black-type race having run fourth to Linton in the 2010 Group Two Alister Clark Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley as a three-year-old.

The Hussonet five-year-old was in the first four throughout and forged clear in the straight to score by 1-3/4 lengths from the Peter Snowden-trained Pied A Terre who was heavily supported from $3 to start $2.35 favourite.

Second Effort ($9.50) was a short neck away third, a nose ahead of There’s Only One ($7) who was only a nose ahead of the fifth-placed Shout Out Loud ($31).

“He gave me a lovely ride. He just idled nicely and when he got to the front he switched off and wanted to wander around a bit but when they came at him he hit the line well,” Winks said.

The entire, whose previous win was over 1400m at Caulfield just over a year ago, has now won five races and been placed in six others for more than $300,000 in stakemoney.

“Danny told me he (At The Heads) needed the right run in order to win a race like this and it all panned out well,” Winks said.

O’Brien was at the Gold Coast where this week he bought four yearlings including an Encosta de Lago-Joie colt for $240,000.

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Driefontein, trained by Gai Waterhouse and ridden by Tommy Berry, was second past the post in the $2 million 1200m feature behind stablemate No Looking Back who was ridden By Nash Rawiller but the real action unfolded minutes later when Berry reluctantly protested against the winner.

Lifelong dreams descended into depressing nightmares at the Gold Coast on Saturday when Sydney filly Driefontein won an action-packed Magic Millions Classic.

Berry requested to view the footage of the final 250m as soon as he dismounted and originally intended not to protest until chief steward Wade Birch prompted him with questions.

Berry then lodged the protest citing interference over the final 200m when No Looking Back shifted out abruptly and took Driefontein’s running, especially over the final 70m.

Stewards deliberated for about five minutes before they called the connections back into the room and upheld the protest.

“It’s our belief that had Driefontein been able to maintain her rightful running she would have won the race and therefore we uphold the protest,” Birch said.

The stewards’ verdict gave Berry his second consecutive Magic Millions win after he scored last year on Karuta Queen but for Gold Coast owners Luke and David Henderson, the decision turned a dream result into a horrific nightmare and meant the difference of $840,000.

“Forget the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, the race we always wanted to win was the Magic Millions and to lose this race is terribly disappointing,” Luke Henderson, a Gold Coast Turf Club director, said.

Driefontein travelled in second place throughout and loomed as the winner at the 200m until No Looking Back surged along the fence to record a neck margin.

Melbourne filly Alezan Thunder ran bravely to finish a length back third with the Kelso Wood-trained colt Sizzling running on powerfully to finish a close-up fourth.

A shocked Berry said the victory was both bittersweet and surreal.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet but when it does I’ll be elated,” he said.

“Nash has become one of my best mates since I started to ride for Gai and to beat him on protest in such a big race doesn’t seem right.

“The filly always travelled strongly although she did get a bit lost getting around the corner.

“She definitely deserved to win the race and the stewards’ decision was the right one.”

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Aided by an outstanding Kathy O’Hara ride from an inside gate, the well-backed Straight Albert ($3.80 fav) notched his fourth straight victory as he held off Wazn ($8.50) by three-quarters of a length with Legsman ($8.50) a neck away third.

The four-year-old gelding has taken giant strides this preparation since joining Guy Walter’s Warwick Farm team and his Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) success added to his last start victory in the Listed Tatt’s Cup.

Walter is still undecided where to head next with the rapidly-improving stayer but a late Sydney autumn carnival and then Brisbane winter preparation aimed at the Group One Doomben Cup could be on the cards.

“He’ll have a let-up now and may come back for the latter part of the autumn and winter,” Walter said.

“It was a wonderful ride. Kathy planned to get off the rail going out of the straight because she felt there was going to be a lot of speed in the race.

“I thought she rode him superbly. She wanted to give him room because he takes a while to wind up, but he’s in wonderful form and he’s just a nice horse getting better and better.”

O’Hara summed the race up perfectly with a wall of horses charging to the first turn.

Straight Albert settled midfield from the inside draw but O’Hara quickly got off the fence as Legsman worked around the field to take up the running.

As the field approached the home turn Straight Albert worked his way into contention and after straightening moved up to take over from Legsman.

Wazn tried but couldn’t reel in Straight Albert giving Walter his second Gosford Cup success.

“Things worked out perfectly today,” O’Hara said.

“I thought the key was getting off the fence during the run and it worked out that we got the run at the right time and the horse did the rest.

“He has progressed phenomenally. He always showed he had ability when he came to Guy’s but he’s come on in leaps and bounds.”

Jim Cassidy, rider of Legsman, was full of praise for the stayer’s effort to hold on for third after working hard to find the lead.

“It was a sensational effort, he’s the toughest horse I’ve ridden outside of Might And Power,” Cassidy said.

“He’s just a bulldog and just wants to keep giving. He was coming back on the line.”

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Straight Albert ($6.50) continued his march through the grades since joining Walter’s Warwick Farm stable with a gritty win in the $100,000 Tattersalls Club Cup (2095m).

The Listed victory completed a hat-trick of wins for Straight Albert – a sequence which started in the Goulburn Cup in November.

Walter’s disappointment over missing a Villiers Stakes start was tempered when Straight Albert won a support race at the pre-Christmas meeting and Monday’s win justified the trainer’s decision to extend the galloper to 2000m races.

“He gave us the impression racing at a mile that he would be suited to further and it’s nice to see that vindicated today,” Walter said.

Straight Albert sat in third place for jockey Kathy O’Hara before launching his run from the top of the straight.

He looked set for a decisive win until Winning Glory fought back in a dogfight to the finish.

In the end, Straight Albert had a long head to spare over Winning Glory ($6.50) with Legsman ($17) holding down third after making the running.

“Really, he’s gone from strength to strength,” Walter said.

“You saw that today when he got headed and then showed great courage to fight back and win.”

O’Hara, who has been in the saddle for two of Straight Albert’s three wins for Walter, said the four-year-old had felt one of the firmest tracks presented in Sydney for a long time.

“It was a tough effort because he probably wasn’t comfortable in the hard going,” she said.

“I think he was starting to feel the sting a bit in the last 100 metres but he tried his hardest and he really wanted to put his head out.”

Straight Albert is raced by Walcha breeder Brian Turton who sent him to Walter on the back of a promising three-year-old campaign.

“He ran second to (Caulfield Cup placegetter) Tullamore in a race at Scone last season,” Walter said. “He’s a lovely horse who has a lovely temperament.”

Straight Albert will be given a chance to add to his Cups collection.

“He’ll probably head to Gosford now,” Walter said.

The $125,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) is on January 12.

Walter took training honours at Monday’s meeting with a double after Skateboard returned to form in the Vinery Stud Handicap (1300m).

Skateboard ($5.50) made all the running to hold out Newcastle filly Next The Universe in a driving finish.

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Banks, 30, is in a critical condition in the Royal Brisbane Hospital after suffering serious spinal injuries in a race fall at Toowoomba on Saturday night and is facing the rest of her life in a wheelchair.

Banks has ridden for Gollan at Toowoomba for the past 10 years and she scored the biggest win of her career when she partnered Spirit Of Boom to win the $100,000 Magic Millions Prelude at the Gold Coast in 2010.

Banks has ridden Spirit Of Boom on five occasions in total for two wins, two seconds and an unplaced effort behind Military Rose in the 2010 Magic Millions Classic.

“That one is for Kristy, she loves this horse and has done so much work with him right throughout his career,” Gollan said.

“He’s a four-year-old bull now and a bit of a thinker but he’s a very good horse when he’s on his game and he showed that today.

“That was a very timely win and hopefully it will lift Kristy’s spirits. We mightn’t know the full diagnosis for two days or two weeks but we’re all thinking of her and praying for her.”

Confidently ridden by Ric McMahon, Spirit Of Boom ($7) settled worse than midfield and exploded in the straight to score a dominant 1-3/4 length win in the 1300m Listed race.

Fellow Toowoomba galloper Dual Chamber ($9) flashed home from well back to snatch third over north Queensland visitor Geared Up ($31) with Spirit Of Boom’s stablemate Listen Son ($10) fighting on bravely for fourth after setting the pace.

Race favourite Adebisi ($5.50) shared the lead with Listen Son and briefly found the front in the straight when the field straightened but he tired near the line to finish on the heels of the placegetters.

Spirit Of Boom will now head toward the $200,000 Magic Millions Sprint (1000m) at the Gold Coast on January 14.

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Pride revealed he wanted to scratch Rain Affair when it became apparent a flint-like racing surface would be presented at Warwick Farm for the holiday Monday meeting.

“He’s going to feel that run,” Pride said after Rain Affair rallied to shake off a determined challenge from bush-trained Jest Crewsin’.

“I felt a lot of pressure to possibly take him out (of the race) this morning but he had to come here for a run.

“Horses don’t want to run on tracks like that … it’s too hard.

“Look at how many horses who have come down the straight today who look like they are running on hot coals.

“No one listens to you when you lose so you may as well have a whinge when you win. That track was too hard today.”

Rain Affair ran 1:02.15 for the 1100 metres on a day when times for most races were well above par on a track rated a good (2).

“He’s won and he’s broken the track record but I don’t know what that means because today they have done that in nearly every race,” Pride said.

Rain Affair, the $1.30 favourite, came off the canvas to beat Jest Crewsin’ ($31) by 1-1/4 lengths with Star Of Octagonal ($26) making a promising return to racing with his 1-1/2 length third.

Pride saw enough to declare Rain Affair on track for autumn riches despite obvious concerns for the gelding’s welfare.

“This horse is destined for good things but I’m going to be very judicious in the way I place him,” the Warwick Farm trainer said.

As is his way, Rain Affair mustered legs to lead after 200 metres and he maintained a strong tempo into the straight.

But it didn’t take long for Jest Crewsin’ to emerge as a serious threat when he levelled up to the favourite at the 250-metre mark.

“I know he was a threes-on pop and entitled to win but look at him halfway up the straight … he was battling,” Pride said.

“I thought he was in all sorts of trouble but he’s a fighter who wants to keep giving.”

Rain Affair has now won eight of his nine starts on all surfaces and Pride says the autumn is “an open plan”.

Declaring the rest of January off limits for the four-year-old, Pride said: “I don’t really want to commit to one thing or another and I’ll be guided by what the horse is doing.

“His best opportunity will come on good to dead surfaces then into the wet tracks. He’s as good as any horse in the country on a wet track.”

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The Mark Kavanagh-trained chestnut was explosive up the straight course and he spreadeagled his rivals to win Monday’s 1200m feature by three lengths in a sizzling 1:7.66.

Iglesia set the course record when he won the 2001 Standish in 1:7.16 while unbeaten champion Black Caviar won last year’s Newmarket Handicap in 1:7.36.

Kavanagh said he was confident he had Catapulted close to his best after a failed trip to Sydney last month but was unprepared for the ease of his win and the winning time.

“I was surprised he did that with the weight (59kg) but he is a good horse when right,” Kavanagh said.

“I thought we had him nearly back and it is good to see him hit form again.”

“He got them off the bridle a long way out and that always helps in sprint races.

“He’s been a fabulous horse, a great horse.”

Kavanagh is now planning to travel interstate again with Catapulted to contest the $400,000 Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast on January 14.

“It is quality handicap so we might take him up there now,” Kavanagh said.

Catapulted is no stranger to Queensland having won the Group Two QTC Cup (1300m) in June 2010 at Eagle Farm.

The Standish was his 11th win from 27 starts and his sixth at stakes level. However he had been winless since the Group Three Rubiton Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield in February last year.

Michael Rodd, who returned from a Christmas break four days ago, rode Catapulted confidently in the first four and said he was “giggling” when the gelding was travelling so well in the run.

“I was pretty confident going into the race as long as the trip to Sydney didn’t knock him around,” Rodd said.

“I wanted to get cover, ideally, but I didn’t want to push him around to get behind one and do too much so I stayed out where I was.

“With the run he had to the 600 metres I was giggling to myself because he is just below spring carnival form and not many of these horses have reached those heights yet.”

Rocking Force, who won the Listed Swisse Vitamins Stakes at Flemington three starts ago, charged home late to dead-heat for second with Cascabel while Canali raced on the pace all the way and finished fourth.

Catapulted was Kavanagh’s second Standish winner with Honalee successful in 2006.

The race was run on a Good (3) track with the meeting brought forward to try to avoid the hottest part of the day with temperatures in Melbourne hovering around 40 degrees.

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