It might have felt like a long time coming, but Dubbo trainer Kody Nestor had all the pieces in motion for the perfect ending on Saturday.
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Fast Talking, one of Nestor's most outstanding gallopers, produced a truly incredibly effort to cap off a campaign long in the making and take out the Country Classic at Rosehill on Saturday.
The fixture's long been a target for Nestor and Fast Talking, who edged out the Cody Morgan trained Bajan Gold to ensure a win.
"He's been racing well in pretty strong company and stepping out to the 2000m today was really going to suit him, I thought it was a lovely ride, it put him in a great position," Nestor said of his successful charge.
"It was always a bit of a query if he'd make it the ten furlongs, but he's done a good job today."
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The six-year-old gelding held close to the back of leader Tom's Knight around the final bend, before making his move and sliding around the outside to make the contest a battle along the straight between himself and Bajan Gold.
Jockey Nash Rawiller, who's partnered with Nestor and Fast Talking in previous trips in the city said he was 'very happy' to help produce the result.
"He gave me a lot of confidence before the race, I don't think we could have had him better, he was a picture of health, everything felt terrific," Rawiller said.
"We had to do a bit of work to get him into his spot, but he switched off beautifully in the run and he held up on the leader's back for as long as I could before I reduced him and thankfully he got there."
While Nestor wasn't one hundred percent committed to any particular path forward for the gelding, he was optimistic about what the future could hold in further trips to the city.
"He's pretty sound, he's one of those horses that'll go around in every race you set him for, it all depends on his benchmark from here, we might have to bring him up to town more often now," Nestor said.
"We've got a few lined up there, things are good in the bush at the moment, green grass and everyone's got a bit of feed about, so we're in a lot better shape than last year."