MAT Rue has long been friends with Anthony Frisby, but on Friday night he laughed as he admitted he was glad his mate didn't have the winning drive in the annual Bathurst Shoot Out (1,730 metres).
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The talented drivers, Rue aboard $26 outsider Ziggy Rocks and Frisby in the gig behind $4 chance Jenden Strike, were unsure which one of them had taken the spoils as they hit the line together at the Bathurst Paceway.
"I didn't really know, I looked at Anthony when we hit the line and I said 'What do you reckon?' and he said 'I don't know'," Rue said.
"I said to him 'You're a great mate of mine Anth, but I really hope you didn't win that'."
In the end it was Ziggy Rocks who was declared the victor by a narrow half-head margin in a handy 1:55.9 mile rate and while Rue knew Jenden Strike would have been a deserving winner, he was glad to get the nod.
It was the first time in almost eight months his four-year-old Pet Rock x Inaugural Ball gelding had been first past the post.
"She [Jenden Strike] done all the work, I got a great run on her back so a lot of the credit has sort of got to go to her. But this horse, he's a little opportunist," Rue said.
"He hasn't won a race for so long now, it's been frustrating because not many of those runs have been bad. There were a few in there early on that weren't up to scratch, so we gave him a break, but since he came back he's found it really hard to win one.
"So it's pretty rewarding to win that."
Rue said he had initially hoped to get a sit on $1.85 favourite Maestro Bellini, but as it was Ziggy Rocks travelled one out and two back behind Jenden Strike.
There he sat until the home straight when Rue peeled out and Ziggy Rocks sprinted hard to get up in his final strides. Third went to early leader One Hell Of Ride ($5.50) who was a further five metres back.
"As it turned out we had the run of the race," Rue said.
"He did feel good when he hit the line, but he had everything go his way tonight when that hasn't been happening the last couple of months. It was the right one to win."
In winning the feature Ziggy Rocks took his record to seven wins from 42 career starts.
