The Chancer ($13) overcame the 20m backmark to claim Sunday afternoon’s $14,000 Ladbrokes Meander Valley Cup at Carrick Park (2560m).
Driven by Tarn Ford, the Tammy Langley-trained pacer settled back, having to pass the entire field from the 1000m.
He finished off best down the outside to score by 1.7m from Imperial Laz ($4.80) and Montgomery Burns ($26) in a mile rate of 2:02.3s on the rain-affected track.
“He galloped away slightly, which was probably more my fault. He hit his straps pretty quickly after that,” said Ford post-race.
“The plan was to stay on the fence and punch through the gaps over the long trip. When I was no worse off, I decided to move into the running line and hopefully get carted into it. But at the 500-metre mark, nobody was making a move, and I knew he would handle the last corner and would rip up strong for 200m, so whilst the corner was approaching, I thought I’d try and pinch a break whilst they were all bunched up.”
Ford gave what has become her customary feature race salute when crossing the line.
“My little brother Nate told me to salute if he won, and he’s a real family favourite,” she said about the pacer.
The day’s other feature race was the Westwood Quarry Trainers Incentive Final (2150m), where the winning trainer wins a brand new Missile Race Sulky.
This year it went to Paul Ashwood, who prepared Mcmayhem ($1.60 fav) to victory.
Driver Rohan Hillier was left leading the one-wide line on the pacer in a slowly run race before proving too strong for his opposition over the concluding stages to score by 5.9m from Glenview Lanikai ($3.90) and Franco Vai ($14).
Mcmayhem, a four-year-old Mcwicked entire, has now won three of his seven starts, with three minor placings to his credit.
Brodie Davis continued his good form with a driving treble winning with Rocky Stride ($5), Into The Harkness ($4.20 fav) and Centurian Miss ($7)
Liam Older also drove a double, winning aboard Magic Joe ($3.60) and Dazzle Me ($15).
And Grace Jones continued the theme for young drivers, recoding her second winning double, after Hay Miki ($3.20) and Rollwitharty ($4.60 fav) won the final two races.
