Eagle Commander wins TAB Western Regional Championships Heat at Bathurst Paceway for Nathan Hurst

Eagle Commander ($21) upset his far more fancied rivals in the first of the Western Regional Heats (2,260 metres) when he peeled out from behind race leader and favourite Dukkah ($2.40) in the run for home, beating the Bernie Hewitt trained and driven runner by two metres.

Lyrical Genius ($3.60, Amanda Turnbull) and Stylish Joe ($4.40, Jemma Comey) were less than a metre further behind in a hotly contested finish to the heat.

After he surrendered his early lead Hurst said the rest of the rest panned out beautifully for him and his four-year-old Fly Like An Eagle gelding.

"It worked out perfect for him with the run he got and he managed to out-stay them at the end," he said.

"It was perfect really because we were following the right horse and everything worked out the way we wanted it to.

"Around the bend he was travelling really well and we'd been running along pretty solid so I knew we probably wouldn't be getting home quick, so I thought he'd be right in it."

Eagle Commander got away strongly from gate two to hold out inside starter Dukkah but Hewitt's runner would eventually peel out and take up control along the back straight.

The front half of the field quickly sorted itself into single file, with Stylish Joe and Infinity Beach falling into line behind the front runners, while the rest of the pack took extra time to find their spots.

Mach Daddy eventually pushed ahead to the death seat and had Carbaganoosh in tow.

As Dukkah picked up the pace on the run for home Eagle Commander was able to stay locked to his tail, but Mach Daddy faded from the hunt and opened up space to the outside for Hurst to attack.

Eagle Commander loomed up on the outside with 200m to go and Stylish Joe ducked to the sprint lane to also get in striking distance.

Lyrical Genius was also finishing strongly from the rear of the field but had to work wide a long way out from home to get into the mix.

Eagle Commander did just enough in the four-horse finish to win by a length, picking up career win number 13 in the process.

It closely mirrors the achievement of Hurst's Gabbys Sportstar, who won a heat in the 2020 series at $16 odds. He went on to finish sixth in the final.

The result on Wednesday night continues what's been a great season for Hurst, who recently scored a shock Gold Tiara placing with Call Me Millie.

"This year's been really good. A lot of the horses have been really consistent," he said.

"I couldn't be happier with them really. Getting one into this final is really good. I wasn't expecting it so it's great to get another one into this race. It's exciting."

Other heat winners were Saint Emilion (Steve Turnbull) and Ballerini (Hewitt).

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