The trip to Dubbo was worth the journey for Albury based trainer Brett Cavanough and Newcastle jockey Aaron Bullock after their prospect gelding Eiger thundered across the line in the curtain-raising Silver Goblet Showcase (1100m) at the Dubbo Turf Club.
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"Third time lucky, we've had a couple of cracks at this race and both horses have gone on, so hopefully this one can go on and will be worth following to Grafton," Cavanough said.
"I'd like to thank Aaron, he does it pretty tough to get his weight down, so that was a good sign that the horse was going good when he wanted to come and ride him at that weight."
Bullock had previously trialled Eiger twice in Newcastle and Muswellbrook, before riding the horse through his winning debut in Dubbo.
"I gave him his first trial in Newcastle, Brett rang me up and got me to jump on him for him and I gave him a ride and we had a really good feel," Bullock said.
"We sort of got back and hit the line good and he didn't have the blinkers on that day, we put the blinkers on again for his next trial and he sort of overdid it a little bit, we took them off again today, so credit to Brett."
There was no denying from Bullock that Eiger still needed to mature, but the result will be pleasing for Cavanough, who's ran managed only second place finishes in the Silver Goblet so far.
"He jumped and he sort of just sat off on a bit of speed early and was happy to just take up the trail because his best trial was coming from the back, just coming to the corner he sort off got on the wrong leg and wandered to the ground left of me a little and just needed to be straightened up," Bullock said.
Eiger didn't seem to struggle as it raced down the unexpectedly wet and soft conditions at the Turf Club, beating out John Ramsey's Love Me Quietly, piloted by veteran jockey Mathew Cahill, by a head with a narrow 0.73 margin.
Third place finisher Denace, steered by Ashley Morgan, fell behind by a 3.58 margin.
Dubbo based trainer Clint Lundholm's Matter of Factor came placed fourth narrowly beating out the odds on favourite, Matthew Dale's Calescent, while Alaskan Aura placed sixth.