HE may not have kicked clear as emphatically as racegoers expected on Wednesday night but race favourite Mach Assassin was still a cut above the rest of the field in the Tony Hagney Pace (1,730 metres).
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Mach Assassin ($1.50 favourite, Jason Hewitt) led the entire trip to win the race named in honour of Bathurst Paceway's outgoing clerk of the course Tony Hagney.
Saveeon ($19, Ashlee Grives) and Feeling Hall Good ($41, Nathan Turnbull) at least gave the short priced favourite a test across the last 200m but Bernie Hewitt-trained runner wasn't going to be caught.
Winning driver Jason Hewitt said the conditions made the race anything but a walk in the park for his runner.
"The slow sectionals helped but it is windy and cold and he still got home in a handy last half so I was pretty happy with him," he said.
"He's a handy little horse, without being a champion, but he'll hopefully go on to be a handy horse for [owners] Wayne and Julie [Loader]."
Mach Assassin didn't have to break a sweat to find the race lead from gate three.
Inside starter Mioan galloped at the start and hindered the inside runners as he drifted back through the pack.
Mach Assassin wasn't pressured out in front and it would cost his challengers.
The Hewitt runner was left with plenty of energy in the tank for the final 400m, although he didn't blow away the opposition like his short odds would have suggested.
Saveon was winding up down the outside while the pair to his inside, Feeling Hall Good and Better Than Lexy, refused to give up any ground in the run for home.
While Mach Assassin didn't leave his rivals in the dust he never let the margin he'd gained on the final corner shrink any further, picking up his fourth career win and the second success of this preparation.
The Mach Three gelding came back from his six month spell recently with a comfortable first-up win but was left with a little too much work to do when he found the line well for a fourth placing next start.
Wednesday's performance was a strong return to the winner's circle. All four of Mach Assassin's victories to date have been from leading all the way in his run.
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Alexander Grant
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
