Rain and an outside draw have paved the way for a return to winning form for Face Forward at Flemington.
The daughter of Charge Forward has had her career restricted because of bad knees but with rain softening the track it played in her favour.
Face Forward
Dwayne Dunn took Face Factor to the grandstand side of the straight 1000m of the Euroa VCs Handicap on Saturday with I’m A Flying Star (Stephen Baster), while the remaining 11 runners headed to the inside.
“I just couldn’t believe they all smashed left,” Dunn said.
“It was just so much better out where I was.
“It was a good idea running her down the straight and getting on her own was also big asset.”
Backed from $15 into $12, Face Forward raced clear over the final 100m to record a three-length victory from Puzzle ($10) with Bella Capri ($16) a short half-head away third.
Co-trainer Simon Zahra said the stable has has trouble with Face Forward’s knees and getting her on the straight track worked to the filly’s advantage.
Face Forward had scored around a bend at Echuca and Moonee Valley last preparation but had struggled this campaign.
“We’ve been struggling to keep her sound, so we haven’t done a lot with her and kept her nice and fresh,” Zahra said.
“The straight really suited her as did the jar out of the ground.”
