Potential winners were lining up across the track in the run for home but it was Diamond Hands ($21, Heavelon Van Der Hoven) who edged out Hard To Excel ($7.50, Brandon Lerena) by a head to give trainer Bjorn Baker a Bathurst quinella.

Gary Portelli's race favourite She Loves Rubies ($1.85, Blake Spriggs) was a half head back in third while the fast finishing Uncaged ($6, Chad Lever) somehow found a way to finish only a head further behind in fourth after running very wide on the turn for home.

A neck covered the first four finishers in the thrilling juvenile event.

Winning jockey Heavelon Van Der Hoven wasn't sure whether he'd managed to get the better of Hard To Excel, who was sitting to his inside.

"I thought that the stablemate had got it. He's a better horse than mine at moment, but that was a very good run from my horse," he said.

"He showed a lot of guts and he's a nice looking horse.

"He was very green and very hesitant and didn't want to get going. I had to put a lot of pressure on to get there.

"But that was only his first run and he'll come along from this."

The thrilling finish didn't appear to be a likely scenario after the favourite travelled strongly throughout the race on the leader's outside.

She Loves Rubies drew up alongside leader Chaleur Bay as the field straightened for the sprint home and took control inside the 200m.

Hard To Excel peeled to the outside of She Loves Rubies to try and mount a challenge, and the horse responded under a lot of work from jockey Brandon Lerena.

Diamond Hands was a little slower to respond but slowly ate into the lead of the two horses ahead of him.

Uncaged had almost run himself off the track while swinging for home but he too soon arrived on the scene to leave punters holding their breath.

Hard To Excel briefly pinched the lead away from She Loves Rubies with only a couple of stride to go but Diamond Hands had timed his sprint to perfection, getting the nod in a photo.

Baker then completed a race-to-race double when Russbuss ($2.90, Brandon Lerena) took out the Bill Aspros Cup (1,100m) ahead of Denace ($6, Mikayla Weir) and Underwood ($7, Mathew Cahill).