THE result was up in the air right until the final few strides of Sunday's Knickerbocker Hotel Maiden Pace (1,730 metres) at Bathurst Paceway but Squatter Shannon lifted when it mattered most.
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Squatter Shannon ($5.50, Travis Bullock) and Turbo Tommy ($2.30 favourite, Jake Davis) broke away from the rest of the field in the dash for home, and raced side by side for much of the straight.
The Peter Bullock-trained Squatter Shannon got the nod by a neck over Turbo Tommy, scoring his first career win.
Squatter Shannon hasn't been the most agreeable of horses to work with for winning driver Travis Bullock but he said it was nice to see the Miles McCool gelding living up to his potential.
"I was a little bit worried that have might have been able to beat me over those last 100 metres but I had the perfect run and was able to let him rip home over that final stretch and get him on the line," he said.
"I've driven him five times now and this is the best that I've gone on him. I've had a couple of placings before.
"He's a bit of a handful and I don't usually like to drive him, with my lack of experience, but I had to today and I'm glad I did.
"If he sits towards the top end, particularly behind the leader, he'll be there or thereabouts because he can follow speed all day. He just lacks that consistent, long sprint but today was really suited for him and that's how he got the money."
Inside starters Alibi and Baby Bee Mine got away beautifully when the gates went back.
Alibi held the lead along the pegs and Squatter Shannon, from the back row, had no trouble latching onto the leader's tail.
Jacobs Thunder put in some early work to go three wide and eventually settle in the death seat.
The pace stayed consistent over the opening half, with quarters of 30.4 and 30, as Alibi plugged along out in front.
Turbo Tommy patiently sat at the rear of the field as Jake Davis waited for the perfect opportunity to move ahead.
Davis couldn't afford to wait any longer at the 600 and pulled wide to make a charge through the field.
His move came at the right time because Jacobs Thunder began to tire in the death seat, halting the momentum of those behind him in the outside line.
Turbo Tommy surged forward on the straight and briefly put his nose ahead of Squatter Shannon, who had peeled out from behind Alibi, but he didn't hold the lead for long.
Squatter Shannon found a second wind inside the closing 100m to see off the favourite.
The winning mile rate was 1:59.8.
Squatter Shannon had finished third in his past two starts but found the ideal race on Sunday when he dropped back to a maiden grade.