Godolphin sprinter Roheryn ($4.40) claimed some high-profile scalps to land his first stakes win in the Show Country Quality (1200m).
The gelding had race fitness on his side and it told over the final stages as he held on to beat the fast-finishing Probabeel ($18) by a neck with Special Reward ($4.40) another half-head away.
Trainer James Cummings said the gelding had found a new lease of life since they started training him as a sprinter.
“Having thought about trying to make more of a miler out of him than a sprinter-miler, I think we’ve unlocked the key to him and it’s proving very beneficial,” Cummings said.
“He’s a bit of an underrated horse. He was in a good race today and had to make a big leap and he did that.”
Probabeel produced the eye-catching run of the race while favourite Funstar settled near the rear for James McDonald and warmed up late in a return that pleased trainer Chris Waller.
“I thought her run was good,” Waller said
“James said she was a bit flat-footed when they sprinted but the last 100 metres was good.”