PUTTING Kody Nestor in the saddle of Perpetual Motion for Friday’s Bathurst Thoroughbred Racing meeting proved to be a winning move for Hawkesbury trainer Garry Frazer.
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In the lead up to the meeting at Tyers Park, an irrigation malfunction saw the track rated a heavy 8 from the 450 metres mark to the winning post.
The rest of the surface was classified as a soft 5.
That added to the difficulty horses and their jockeys faced in the Vietnam Veterans Commemoration Day Benchmark 55 Handicap over 2,008 metres.
However, Dubbo hoop Nestor being a regular at Tyers Park meant he was able to alter his tactics.
He sat back in the field early, saved ground along the rail, then was able to peel wide into the straight to guide the $1.90 favourite to victory.
It was the first time the Dylan Thomas x Pricey five-year-old had found success on a wet track in his 15-start career.
“I had an idea of what it was going to be like, that sort of thing has happened here before,” Nestor said.
“It’s not the best conditions, you want to be on a horse travelling through it, you don’t want to be off the bridle.
“I was lucky enough to save a bit of ground on him. I got on the back of the right horse coming to the 600 which allowed me to pop out and get moving before I hit that wet patch without getting off the bridle.
“I reckon if I was off the bridle riding into that wet patch he probably still would’ve won, but it would’ve made it a lot tougher.
“The long races too, at 61 kilos I didn’t want to be sitting an sprinting.”
Nestor had sat in last down the front straight the first time but after making his move with 600 to go, was in position to strike when they turned for home.
He peeled four wide with Perpetual Motion, who then ran away from his rivals to pick up his second career win.
Prime Justice ($17, Shaun Guymer) was just over seven lengths behind in second after a late surge saw him improve from sixth halfway down the straight.
Third belonged to $61 chance Scheckter.