WHEN Amy Rees takes control of Pacman on Wednesday night, it won't be ghosts that are chasing her and she won't be trying to navigate her way through a maze.
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Instead she will be trying to steer a four-year-old gelding - Pacman Hammer - to victory in the Bedwells Feed Barn Pace (1,730 metre) at the Bathurst Paceway.
Unlike the arcade game which enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, it has only been this past month that Pacman Hammer has started to reward the efforts of his Bathurst trainer Matthew McCarthy.
Having joined his stables in February, the son of Courage Under Fire notched up his first win for McCarthy in start number 17.
Rees was in the gig that night when he saluted as a $51 outsider, peeling off a career best 1:56.7 mile rate. It was Pacman Hammer's first success since he won for former trainer Craig Cross in October 2018.
"I didn't know what it was paying until afterwards and when I saw, I definitely thought it would be shorter than that," Rees said.
"It had been going better than what its form suggested at that time, which is why its odds were probably longer that what they should have been.
"He's a good horse to drive, he's got a few little quirks but once you get used to them he's fine. He can just put a bit of a funny step in at times and feel like he's going a little bit rough."
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A week after that breakthrough win, Rees again guided Pacman Hammer to victory on his home track. This time it was at much shorter odds - he was the $4 second-elect - but he again won in all the way fashion after showing early gate speed.
This week the assignment will be tougher as Pacman Hammer goes from barrier five and faces a class rise as he chases a third consecutive win for the first time in his 34-start career.
But Rees pointed out Pacman Hammer does not necessarily need to find the front to win. If he gets a nice sit she can 'trick' him into finding speed when it matters.
"He's pretty versatile, he's probably better with a sit, especially given the class he's in against on Wednesday night, which is definitely a step up to his last two weeks," Rees said.
"His last two runs he's won from in front, but if he has a pretty easy run with a sit, he does have a sprint at the end.
"If he doesn't have to do too much, you can sort of kid to him a bit and make him think he's going a little bit better than he is and he'll pull a nice sprint out."
When Pacman Hammer went back-to-back last week it made it 21 winning drives this season for Rees, eclipsing her tally of 18 from 2018. She is hoping she can keep adding to that count.
"I've been really lucky, it's been pretty good. Peter Bullock has been really good to me and helped me out a lot," she said.
