Lexy Can Bern takes first career win for Bernie Hewitt after taking on open age field

After a series of struggles against his fellow two-year-olds Lexy Can Bern ($3.20) was put up against the older competition in Wednesday night's TAB Long May We Play Pace (1,730 metres), where he led from start to finish.

Bernie Hewitt's young Sportswriter gelding came into the race unplaced from seven career starts but had a great chance to end that drought when he landed gate one for Wednesday's race at Bathurst Paceway.

Lexy Can Bern made the most of the opportunity as he calmly saw off a tightly packed group of challengers by nearly five metres.

"He had a gallop early in his career and was put on the outside of the draw, so he's been drawn pretty badly all the time. The good thing is that he's been learning to race and each week he's been getting better and better," Hewitt said.

"I thought I'd put him in against the older horses and he ended up with a good draw. He was able to hold the lead and do a really good job. It's been great to see him learn a lot lately.

"He was quite strong to the line. He got an easy second quarter. He's switched on and he's got nice speed but he taps one knee a little bit so that's something we've got to deal with. He just needs to mature now."

Lexy Can Bern found the front with ease, leading out Negative Nancy with Feeling Hall Good comfortably settling in the death seat.

Hewitt, in the driver's seat, was able to find an easy-going opening half of 62.8 and it gave his runner plenty of energy in reserve for the trip home.

There were no mid-race moves. The first of them came inside the final 600m when Limbo Larry and Hall Star went three wide for their sprint home.

But when Hewitt asked Lexy Can Bern to crank up the pace no-one was going to trouble him.

Dynamite Dee ($4.40, Kellie Munro) would poke through the middle of a jam-packed chasing group to finish second and Limbo Larry ($4.20, Jed Betts) would flash home down the outside for third.

Less than four metres would separate second and seventh place.

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