HE has won races in three different countries, he has sat in the gig behind world champions and now Darren McCall could find his name on the Bathurst Gold Crown Carnival's honour roll too.
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On Wednesday night at the Bathurst Paceway the Menangle Park trainer-driver guided Girl From Oz to a 30.2 metres win in her heat of the Gold Tiara for two-year-old fillies.
But it was not just that winning margin - the biggest across the five Gold Tiara heats - that impressed.
Girl From Oz clocked a 1:56.4 mile rate, getting home in a 56.3 seconds half, but McCall did not pull the plugs and actually eased back the Heston Blue Chip x Girls Go Racing filly in the final metres.
"She wasn't out of first gear. She could have probably broke 55 [1:55 mile rate] if she wanted," McCall said.
"She was looking at the sign down the back straight and she just started to turn her head a little and I wanted to keep her focused, so I touched her with the whip.
"Then I just slowed her down for the rest of the trip, she was going so easy at the line it was ridiculous. I slowed her up the last hundred metres to a walk."
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Having won the Group 2 Pink Bonnet at Menangle on February 29 in impressive fashion, Girl From Oz not only offered a good return on her $18,000 purchase price, but gave an indication of her potential.
That saw her start her Gold Tiara heat as the short $1.28 favourite and she certainly lived up to that tag.
After going from barrier five, Girl From Oz had enough gate speed to cross for the lead.
It was with 500m to go that McCall tapped Girl From Oz and she quickly opened up a commanding lead over her rivals.
Before she was even halfway down the home straight it was clear she was headed for victory. The win came as no great surprise for McCall and - in an ominous sign - he says she will be better for that run as well.
"I knew she'd be good, I haven't raced her since the Pink Bonnet. I give her a few easy days and just trained her really lightly and four days ago I really tightened her up and give her a really good mile at Menangle," he said.
"She did it well, but she needed it. I trained her back again on Monday, just a slow trip, and she felt so much better on Monday, so I was very confident she would win barring any kind of trouble.
"I try not to put a rap on them because you don't want to be deflated, especially so early in their career.
"But I've had some really good horses, especially when I was in North America, some world champions, but I'd have to say she would actually be right up there with some of the better two-year-olds I've had for sure."
