YESTERDAY'S Happy Easter Sunday Handicap (1100m) at Mudgee signalled the comeback of one of the central west's most established jockeys as well as the farewell to one of the region's cult racing heroes.
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As Cowra hoop Mathew Cahill guided Lancelot ($5.50) to victory for his first win back after a year-long disqualification, connections of gallant grey Spectacular Iam declared the 10-year-old's racing days were over.
Cahill returned to the saddle with three winless rides on Saturday at Lightning Ridge but it didn't take long for him to find his old form as he timed his run on Lancelot to perfection.
The Max Crockett-trained gelding had been performing well over longer trips but, with a freshen up, returned to 1100m and handled it easily.
The four-year-old settled fourth last early as Dunderry ($15.00, Ken Dunbar) set the pace, with Spectacular Iam ($15.00, Meg Hoey) and favourite Texan Lad ($2.50 fav, Greg Ryan) just off the speed.
As the field approached the turn Lancelot was able to find the back of Conroy's Gap ($5.50, Samantha Clenton), which sprinted quickly at the top of the straight and looked the likely winner before Cahill got to business and thrust Lancelot at his rivals.
The pair got there just in time, with the official margin being a neck between Lancelot and Conroy's Gap, with Shadow Force ($5.00, Martin Haley) a further three-quarters-of-a-length away in third place and Texan Lad finishing a fading fourth.
The time for the 1100m journey was 1:05.71.
Narromine trainer Kylie Kennedy would have been pleased with the run of her under-rated sprinter Shadow Force but after the race the course was tinged with sadness when she and the owners of Spectacular Iam announced the grey would be retired.
The horse they call 'Spec' finished sixth, beaten almost five lengths.
The Za-Im (GB) x Spectacular Grey gelding raced on 75 occasions throughout his career and for a period was arguably the best sprinter in the region.
He won 16 races and was placed a further 23 times, and earned his connections almost $200,000 in prize money.
Ironically, Spectacular Iam's first win came on April 20, 2007 when Greg Ryan guided him to victory over Dr Levin and Classic Ann in a 1200m maiden event at Dubbo. His last race, some seven years later, came on the same date and in the meantime he has been a source of great fun for his band of loyal owners.
