Excitement levels went through the roof when Blow In stormed home to score his most important career win at Sandown on Australia Day.
The four-year-old bounced back from a questionable performance at Flemington two weeks ago to stamp himself as a genuine autumn contender when he fought off Daily Bugle to land the Evergreen Turf Hcp (1400m) in a blanket finish.
Trainer Jamie Edwards said the victory dispelled fears that the son of Fighting Sun was just a wet tracker and opened up a myriad of opportunities for the gelding who looks a “miler” in the making.
“We walked away from Flemington questioning whether he might be just a wet tracker but he let down really well on the firm track today,” Jamie said.
“He’s out of a very fast mare (Rose of Falvelon) so I have kept him fresh for sprint races but the way he won today he might run a strong mile.”
“The autumn is ahead of us, and I would love to get him down in the weights in a nice race and see what he can do.”
Jockey Craig Williams identified Blow In’s ability early on and has now ridden him five times for wins at Geelong and Sandown twice, today’s win worth $71,500 and doubling his career earnings to $142,375.
“I always thought this horse had a bit of future,” Craig said.
“I thought he would be effective on top of the ground and Jamie has stuck to his processes and had patience with the horse and now he’s won a BM70 race worth $130,000 and is a dual Sandown winner.”
Blow In settled just off midfield, seven lengths off the lead and was held up in traffic before Craig weaved him between runners approaching the 200m in hot pursuit of Danish Fortune.
Daily Bugle unwound a powerful finish from third last and looked the likely winner near the 100-metre mark as he loomed outside Blow In who took the lead in the closing stages to score in a three-way photo.
“Daily Bugle was going to go straight past him, but he dug deep and kept putting his head out,” Craig said.
Jamie said he was concerned about running the gelding just 12 days after his last start on a very hot day at Flemington but on race morning could not find a reason not to run him.
“He looked so well and knowing he had top jockey riding him we were going to find out a lot about him today,” Jamie said.
“I’m just really glad we decided to run him. It was a good tough win and now gives us so many options.”