Pilote D'essai continued a great spring for imported horses with a sparkling front-running triumph in the Ballarat Cup.

The former French galloper gave the Lindsay Park training operation its second win in the listed feature, which it won back in 1995 with Magical Storm.

Apprentice jockey Regan Bayliss powered the five-year-old across the field from barrier 16 and rolled along out in front before kicking away in the straight to land a dominant two-length victory.

The horse finished clear of Scherzoso, who powered home from back in the field, with Manageress, for jockey Michelle Payne, third.

Trained in partnership by David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig, Pilote D'essai’s success was his first since winning at his Australian debut in March this year.

The horse was sent to the 2200m distance range for the first time on Saturday in what Dabernig admitted was a bit of an experiment.

“We are absolutely thrilled,” Dabernig said.

“I think it was the first time at the trip and today we drew the wide gate and our hand was forced to go forward.

“We didn’t expect him to lead, but he got there quite easily and these imports, we’ve seen them right throughout the spring, if they sit on the pace and get into a rhythm, they can really take a lot of catching.”

Bayliss, who was fined for excessive whip use and his celebration approaching the winning post, started a suspension for a careless riding charge after Saturday’s meeting.

The young jockey said Pilote D'essai ($16) always felt comfortable in the run.

Bayliss said he was able to cross the field from his wide gate relatively easily.

"He let down well, he pricked his ears. He felt terrific,” Bayliss said.

Bayliss said it was among the bigger wins of his career and made more special being in front of a large crowd.

He said although it was his first race ride on the five-year-old – now a winner of five races – he was regularly aboard him in trackwork.

Bayliss has been with the Lindsay Park operation for six months and said it was always great to ride a winner for the bosses.

MAGIC MILLIONS 3YO/4YO CLASSIC

Darren Weir is planning to capture some of the riches of the Gold Coast Magic Millions Carnival with well-named promising sprinter Speedeor.

The Ballarat trainer declared Speedeor was Queensland bound after another impressive win in the $100,000 Magic Millions 3yo/4yo Classic,1100m, in Ballarat on Saturday.

Weir is setting the three-year-old colt for the $2m Magic Millions Guineas – a race he won with Mahuta this year – on January 14.

He has no doubt Speedeor will be suited to the 1400m assignment.

Weir is unsure what Speedeor’s racing program, if any, might be in the lead up to the Gold Coast trip.

“He doesn’t need much racing.”

Speedeor ($2.05 favourite) raced outside leader captain Crackerjak before stamping his authority on the race over the last 300m – scoring by 1.5 lengths over dam Ready (1$10), with Golden Spin ($5.50) third.

The feature success capped off an impressive spring – giving him three wins on end and taking his earnings to $135,000.

Speedeor ended a run of minor placings – a second and two thirds – on Ballarat Cup Day for Weir and was the first leg of a winning double.

He later backed up with imported stayer Shikarpour ($4 favourite), which edged out Charlevoix ($5) by the narrowest of margins in the Hertz Benchmark Handicap, 2300m.

It continued a highly consistent run for the seven-year-old, which has had two wins and three minor placings in his latest five starts.

Speedeor also completed a double for jockey Luke Nolen.

He combined earlier in the day with Despatch in the $200,000 Magic Millions 2yo Clockwise Classic.

Mark Zahra was another to ride a double on the 10-race program.

He saluted on Danuki ($6) in the Thomas Jewellers Benchmark70 Handicap, 1100m, and Duibio ($3.90 favourite) in the Isuzu Benchmark84 Handicap, 1400m.

Stawell's Terry O'Sullivan was a winner all round in the $100,000 VOBIS Gold 3yo Eureka Stockade, 1400m.

VOBIS GOLD 3YO EUREKA STOCKADE

O'Sullivan bred, races and trains Green Patina ($18), which reflected her staying pedigree by coming from behind to land the biggest prize of her short career.

He races the filly with his  wife Robyn and trains her in partnership with daughter Karina.

O'Sullivan said he did have concerns pre-race about a leader track bias, but chose to stick with plans to ride her back and she delivered.

He said Green Patina was bred to stay - her mother Ladies in Luck, which the O'Sullivans also raced, won up to 2800 and was placed at 3200m - and he envisaged stepping her up to 1600m.

She has raced four times and has back-to-back successes after picking up her maiden at Horsham on October 28. Green Patina ($18) saluted from Valiano ($4.20), with Gratwick ($5.50) third.

MIRANDA HANDICAP

Entrancing will be aimed at a black-type campaign in South Australia early in the new year after an all-the-way win on Ballarat Cup Day.

The four-year was perfectly rated in front by apprentice jockey Emily Finnegan in the Sam Miranda Mares' Benchmark78 Handicap, 1200m.

She was never threatened in scoring from Cheeky Babe ($2.80 favourite), with Jacqui's Joy ($14) third.

Entrancing ($3.40)  kept NSW-based owner Bill Hilton's perfect Ballarat Cup Day strike rate in place.

He won the Magic Millions Clockwise 2yo Classic with Sheer Style in 2013

Hilton and fellow owner Steve Wilde made a hit-run visit to see the race  - flying in just hours before the race and then returning to Sydney later in the day.

Wilde said it was likely that the daughter of Exceed and Excel would go for a break before tackling feature races in Adelaide, where she is trained by Phillip Stokes.

Wilde is also a keen breeder and hoping to add black-type to Entrancing's race record to enhance her prospects as a broodmare.

Entrancing was purchased at the Gold Coast Magic Millions yearling sales and was originally set for the Magic Millions 3yo/4yo Classic in Ballarat.

They decided to change her mission after the entries for the classic were so strong.

Entrancing has had just the four starts for Stokes for three wins and a second.

MAGIC MILLIONS 2YO CLOCKWISE CLASSIC

Tony McEvoy weaved the magic with his talented crop of juveniles again on Saturday.

McEvoy, who has training bases in South Australia and Flemington, produced the quinella in the Magic Millions 2YO Clockwise Classic, 1000m, at Ballarat.

The success with Despatch makes it four individual two-year-old winners for the stable this season.

Ridden by jockey Luke Nolen, Despatch just held off fast-finishing stablemate Nistaan to claim the $200,000 event.

McEvoy's assistant trainer Michael Shepardson said the two-year-old horses begin their preparations at the Angaston base in South Australia before being transferred to the Flemington yard in good condition.

"Tony has bought unbelievable at the sales and it was bloody exciting today," Shepardson said.

Shepardson said Despatch and Nistaan are set to travel to the Gold Coast for the $2million Magic Millions 2YO Classic, 1200m, in January next year.

"That was sort of the idea coming here with this race in mind and trialing here. Just to give them as much experience as we can, and it's most important to get some prizemoney to make it worthwhile to go to the Gold Coast," he said.

Shepardson said of the horses that trialed in Ballarat - the club held a number of clockwise jump-outs - Despatch and Nistaan were the two the stable felt would best handle Saturday's race.

He said the Ballarat race is a great concept.

"It's imperative because we are actually sending a few of the two-year-olds to Sydney in a couple of weeks just to try and get more experience," he said.

"So for Magic Millions to present this, it's a good opportunity because they don't really get an opportunity to run that direction until they actually get to the Gold Coast.

"And then by the time you get there, it's all new to them and you are sort of disadvantaged to an extent."

Despatch was a $195,000 purchase at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale, while Nistaan was bought for $150,000 on the Gold Coast.

Both horses were on debut on Saturday.

The clockwise race success started a winning double for McEvoy, who claimed the SUEZ McKellar Mile, 1600, with Dollar for Dollar narrowly getting home from the well-fancied Galaxy Raider.

CITY OF BALLARAT TONKS PLATE

John Sadler was close to winning the City of Ballarat Tonks Plate, 1200m, with Gallant Harmony last year, and went one better to claim the race on Saturday.

The horse, who was beaten just over two lengths by Weinholt in the 2015 edition, was given an easy time in front by his rivals and went on to score a decisive victory.

Ridden by apprentice jockey Michael Dee, Gallant Harmony had a length to spare on runner-up Believe Yourself at the post.

Sadler said he made a few little tweaks to Gallant Harmony's training regime following his disappointing last-start effort at Moonee Valley, where he finished last in a field of eight runners on October 21.

And it worked.

“He disappointed me badly last start, so I just changed a few things with his work and shortened it up and sharpened it up and I think it has made the difference,” Sadler said.

Sadler told Dee to make it clear he was going to lead the race in the early stages before trying to get some softer sectionals through the middle.

“It’s probably what most people would say if you are going to lead and it seemed to me that he was able to do that,” Sadler said.

“He had a good kick and I saw when they straightened that the favourite (Believe Yourself) was struggling and I thought we are a real chance here.”

Gallant Harmony has now won seven of his 27 career starts.

Sadler said his future plans are to simply “win another race” with the gelding.

“He is seven-years-old and we’ll keep going through his classes,” he said.

Sadler said he is considering backing-up the son of Hussonet in a race at Moonee Valley next Saturday.

After his success with Gallant Harmony, Sadler talked up the chances of his Ballarat Cup runner Observational. However, the horse finished 10th, beaten over nine lengths by Pilote D'essai in the day’s main race.

HERTZ BM78 HANDICAP

Up-and-coming stayer Charlevoix missed a run in the Ballarat Cup on Saturday and went awfully close to claiming a nice consolation victory for connections.

The Mick Kent-trained galloper – an emergency in the Cup – flashed home from the middle of the field to miss Darren Weir’s Shikarpour ($3.50) by a nose in the Hertz BM78 Handicap, 2300m.

Weir’s charge was ridden by Brad Rawiller and continued a great run of recent form, which has included two wins and three placings from his last five outings.

TRACK A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

Ballarat Turf Club track manager Dylan O’Neil has shrugged off talk of a perceived leader bias.

Trainers, jockeys and many on social media talked about horses on pace being advantaged on Saturday, but O’Neil believed a range of factors could have contributed to a pattern rather than the surface.

O’Neil said the rail was out 2m in the straight to alleviate similar concerns raised at last year’s Cup meeting and revealed a respected track walker had no issues when checking the surface Saturday morning.

ISUZU BM84 HANDICAP

Duibio closed the Ballarat Cup meeting with a powerful finish in the Isuzu BM84 Handicap, 1400m.

Trainer Ciaron Maher told punters at Friday night’s Moonee Valley races the horse was one of his better chances for the weekend and he delivered with victory over Septamore.

Mark Zahra partnered Duibio and capped a winning double after joining forces with Clinton McDonald’s Danuki in the Thomas Jewellers BM70 Handicap, 1100m.