Locally trained King Of Dudes has scored a thrilling victory in a three-way finish to the Grand National Hurdle.
Warrnambool trainer Aaron Purcell targeted the $200,000 feature with the import and King Of Dudes arrived in time in the final strides of the 3900m race on Sunday to grab Fieldmaster and win by a long head.
Fieldmaster and Stand To Gain, who fought back late on after leading, couldn’t be split and finished in a dead-heat for second.
The Grand National Hurdle meeting, which also featured the Crisp Steeplechase won by champion jumper Bashboy, was a metropolitan meeting transferred from Sandown which is undergoing remedial work.
King Of Dudes fell at the second last jump in the Brendan Drechsler Hurdle last start but made no mistake in the National.
“This race we had planned ever since we knew the race was going to be moved to Warrnambool, so it’s been a few months of hard work,” Purcell told Racing Live.
“Last start gave us glimpses he was not far off the mark and things went well today and the horse did the job.
“I probably would have run him in the National no matter where it was, but when we learned that it was going to be at Warrnambool it was the number one plan and things have just worked out well.”
It was the second Australian hurdle win for the imported King Of Dudes who also won two hurdle races in England.
Stand To Gain led in the heavy conditions with Now And Zen prominent in the run.
There was a line of four going over the final jump with King Of Dudes ($8.50) the widest runner into the home straight as favourite Fieldmaster ($3.40) ducked along the fence to hit the front.
But King Of Dudes, ridden by Paul Gallagher, kept grinding and just got there when it mattered.
