Nathan Turnbull's decision to head to Dubbo on Boxing Night proved to be the right call after he won the Gerard Yeo Memorial in front of a strong crowd.
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Dubbo Harness Racing Club's biggest evening of the year attracted a solid crowd with the majority there for the running of the Gerard Yeo Memorial (2120m).
Turnbull's Diletto ($3.50) took the win off the second row, the third of the evening for the Bathurst-based driver/trainer.
"We've had a great one, I thought I had a few good each-way chances if they got a bit of luck," he said.
"Two of them did then that was three wide from the fence and got out right when he needed to, it was just perfect."
Mat Rue's The Hustler ($2.70) looked like a strong chance heading into the race but got stuck behind Cala Greca ($6.50) and struggled to break free to get into clear air.
Diletto sat in amongst the pack until the back straight when Turnbull got into his work before cruising around the outside to take the win by seven metres.
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Vanish Hanover ($3.80) ran second ahead of The Hustler and Westray ($16).
Heading into the race, a lot of talk was around The Hustler but Turnbull admitted he had a plan he thought would work on the night.
"I thought going into the race that the one might hold the front and that would put the favourite right behind it, I thought three wide would be the place to be," he said.
"It all worked out perfectly to get out and going before Mat (Rue) could."
Winning a memorial race is always special for drivers and trainers, but the win meant even more to Turnbull.
Bathurst's Boxing Night event also featured a memorial race, won in honour of Turnbull's grandmother.
With several members of the Yeo and Wilson families in attendance, Turnbull said it wasn't an easy decision to head to Dubbo for the meeting.
"Half of the crowd are connected to that guy so it was a really special one and they get every Boxing Night," he said.
"As much as it is bittersweet that I'm not racing in Nan's race tonight, it's always a hard one to miss.
"There are some bloody good horses in it too, for me to bring my team here was a better business decision and it has worked out really good."
Later in the night, Dubbo trainers Barry Lew and Lloyd Sutton also enjoyed wins.
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