AWAITING the sprint lane behind a 150-1 shot isn't the most ideal of circumstances for a driver at Bathurst Paceway but for Mat Rue on Wednesday night it turned out to be a winning recipe.
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Rue was on board the Aaron Williams-trained Shes Koala Tee ($7.50) in the TAB Odds and Evens Pace (1,730 metres) looking to launch a late sprint behind Nathan Hurst's long-odds leader Sharp Shooter.
And with plenty of speed to the outside of Shes Koala Tee with 200 metres to run there was plenty of work for Williams' filly to do, even after a comfortable trip.
But when Mr Feelgood three-year-old ducked to the inside she had the necessary kick to win by 1.7 metres ahead of fast finishing Thirsty Sportsman ($7, Emma Turnbull) and favourite Sammi Dance ($1.95, Jason Hewitt).
After waiting 26 starts for her debut win Williams has now picked up two wins in the space of three races with Shes Koala Tee.
Rue said the sit behind the leader was an ideal place to be after starting out of gate one but he knew he could be in for a fight in the run for home.
"To be honest I wasn't too confident because the outside horses had the advantage on me. They had momentum. But when she got to the inside she mustered hard," he said.
"It was probably only 50 to 60 metres after I got in there that I was feeling confident. It's rare though that when the outside horses have the advantage on you that you can peg them back. She'd done a good job.
"It was okay handing the lead up when we got beat for speed early. Getting a run along the fence like that is what you want. Things weren't quite going to plan before straightening but she was good enough to overcome it."
Sharp Shooter flew away at the green light to leave a small gap to the field before Hurst dialled back the pace on the turn.
Shes Koala Tee did little to no work in order to hold the spot behind the leader while Sammi Dance settled three back on the outside after starting on the second row.
Sharp Shooter wasn't setting the world on fire with quarters of 30.7 and 32, which encouraged Jason Hewitt to start his three wide move on the favourite with 700 metres to run.
But Olivia Shannon raced well into the home turn, drawing up near the leader, and that kept the favourite stuck three wide.
Shes Koala Tee looked a picture of composure as the sprint lane opened up, but Sammi Dance and Thirsty Sportsman out wider were starting to wind up.
Those wide runners gave great chase but Shes Koala Tee had conserved her energy well and unleashed it at the appropriate time.
The winning mile rate was a new career best of 1:59.7, going more than a second better than her maiden victory.