Super Pursuit wins 2023 Bathurst Cup in photo finish over Cinque Torri

Top weight Super Pursuit ($4.40) peeled out wide when the field rounded for home in the $50,000 event, and the Proisir gelding had work to do to chase down the leading Cinque Torri ($12, Robbie Dolan).

The Bjorn Baker-trained Cinque Torri pulled clear of the pack with 300m to go and appeared to have the race won a furlong from home.

However, Super Pursuit showed an excellent kick to draw level with the leader right at the winning post.

Spectators and connections waited several minutes for a winner to be determined before it was eventually announced that the Collett combination had prevailed.

Cinque Torri's stablemate and race favourite Hollywood Hero ($2.70, Ashley Morgan) finished well to be a length off the leading pair in third.

The victory for Super Pursuit and the runner-up finish for Cinque Torri makes them both eligible for the upcoming $3 million The Big Dance at Royal Randwick on Melbourne Cup day.

Super Pursuit had to lug around 62 kilos in the Bathurst feature but after venturing west on the back of a strong third placing at Randwick it was a race that Richard Collett knew his horse could excel in.

"He had the weight because he was the quality horse of the field. It was his first run over this ground so we had to ride him further back to make sure that he'd settle and be able to cover the 1,800 metres," he said.

"It's not a back-running track, as a rule, but it was a great ride from Jason.

"I knew once he got around the corner that if he was within three lengths of the lead then he was going to be pretty hard to beat, even with 62 on his back."

Like most others at Tyers Park it was a guessing game for Collett as to whether his son had managed to get Super Pursuit to the lead in time.

"I was watching forward of the line and I could see him coming but I didn't know the angle that well," he said.

"We won a race here with Whetu at the last Bathurst meeting and he just got up on the line. Jason came in after the race and said that he'd actually put the stick away for the last 50m because he thought he had him covered easily.

"It just took a bit of a while for that final result to come through but we got it in the end," he laughed.

Should Super Pursuit line up for The Big Dance he'll be dropping back to the mile on a track he's been very consistent at during his career.

"We've got a window of time now so we may just put him in the paddock for a week and then bring him up," Collett said.

"Whether we give him one easy run prior to it or trial him we'll work that out. We're really looking forward to it. We'll set things in place and now it's up to the horse to get ready for it."