Trainer Keith Dryden praised Kathy O'Hara for her patient ride on Crusader General in the first of two wins for the leading Sydney jockey at Thoroughbred Park on Friday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The task for Crusader General ($6) appeared too great heading into the final furlong, but he dug deep to finish over the top of Grand Allowance ($7.50) and Glad You Called ($10) in a blanket finish.
Dryden registered a second win earlier in the Benchmark 65 Handicap over 1600 metres with Warinda ($4.40), jockey Brendan Ward producing an armchair ride along the fence to beat Ionian Sea by one-and-a-half lengths.
"Kathy won her race on the turn where she didn't go around them and just waited her time and found some runs," Dryden said.
"She rode a winner for me last week in Canberra and that was the first ride she's had for me for 12 or 18 months.
"The ground was soft and it suited both horses."
O'Hara secured a double of her own by piloting Queanbeyan trainer Mick Smith's runner Dure ($10) to a narrow win over Matthew Dale's $3.50 favourite Karakuchi in the final race of the day.
The wet track produced a handful of long-odds winners, including Nick Olive's $13 hope Kentucky Fireball in the Class 2 Handicap over 1200 metres, and Myffy Rae's Bond of Faith ($21) in the Class 1 and Maiden Plate over 1600 metres.
