It took all day for the Clint Lundholm-Greg Ryan pairing to find success at Dubbo's recent race day, but the wait seemed to make the eventual victory all the sweeter for Lundholm, who praised his jockey for bringing the best out of Rufio in Friday's final race.
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"Greg and I combined here again and pulled it off," Lundholm told Sky Racing after the day was done and dusted.
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"It was a gem ride from Greg today, he pulled off a really good prize money race for the owners, they actually travelled down from Sydney to watch him, so that was good."
Lundholm's horses hadn't prevailed throughout the day, coming in second in four other races prior to Ryan's nail-biting win.
"Finally! I was thinking it couldn't surely be five seconds for the day, we've had a long day, a few runners, but look, it's great to finish on a high note," Lundholm said.
"He didn't miss it, thank Christ for that, it was by a nose, but the horse has been going well, I know it's in lesser company, but he's been so consistent, he deserved it."
"He's staying in work, his benchmark's nice and low, we've been able to place him around in the weaker company, and he's just always found one better until now."
Ryan said that Rufio showed more staying power down the stretch, and that was the difference maker.
"I just hopped in and got out of the horse's road, let him gallop and you think you're going too hard on him, but he just seems to stick," Ryan said.