Woodrow, running off 4.75 yards, took out the 100-yard Daylesford Gift at Cricket Willow yesterday, beating a strong field including 2010 champion Shaun Hargreaves.

The Ballarat Grammar School teacher won by the narrowest of margins in the final, claiming the title in a time of 10.24 seconds, 0.01 seconds in front of Matt Hargreaves (scratch), with Adam Cabble (6.5 yards) third.

Woodrow, 27, said the win had exceeded all his expectations.

“It’s a bit of surprise, I really didn’t aim for it to be honest,” he said.

“I just wanted to make the final, I had never made a gift final so I wanted to see what it was like.”

Woodrow admitted he was lucky to even make the final, having not won his heats nor the semi-final.

In fact, Matt Hargreaves beat Woodrow in the semi-final, with the Ballarat sprinter advancing to the final because of a quick time.

“It’s hard to read a lot into the heats and semi-finals, guys might not always be gunning before the final,” he said.

“I was pretty nervous there before the final but maybe that gave me the extra legs I needed.

“It was a great day for me overall. I had been running pretty well but throwing in a poor race every now and then but today I felt good and put in three solid races.”

Traditionally a middle-distance runner, Woodrow has lately started turning his attention to sprint races, although says he still prefers the longer distances.

“Maybe I’ll started doing a few more sprints now – I got a $1200 cheque,” he quipped.

Woodrow will now turn his attention to the Stawell Gift in two weeks’ time.

He will be able to compete in a number of events at the famous carnival. Woodrow said he hoped to reach the semi-finals of the Stawell Gift.