Ridden by Nyssa Burrells it finished five lengths behind the winner Uncle Sugar in the 1700m race on Sunday.

Trained at Hawkesbury by Tara and Phillipe Vigoroux, Uncle Sugar, a seven-year-old Danroad x Cherkassy (NZ) gelding landed in a perfect position from the outset.

Champion rider Greg Ryan had Uncle Sugar in fourth spot, while up front Our Sarastro led before handing up to South Coast raider Imminent.

Our Sarastro, which was one of two Dubbo-trained runners in the race, moved to the front rounding the home turn and for a fleeting second looked the winner, but looming on the outside was Uncle Sugar.

With Ryan riding confidently the seven-year-old shot to the front and held off a late surge from Overdane to win by more than two lengths.

Overdane nabbed second, just ahead of Our Sarastro, with Sand Dune running on well for fourth.

“Greg did a good job. I was very confident today,” Phillipe Vigoroux said after the race.

“It was a gutsy win.”

Meanwhile, Orange trainer Alison Smith’s Dream Empress finished a narrow fourth behind local legend Zarhron who won his third Cowra Japan Cup when he led all the way to win the 1200m co-feature.

Ridden by Dubbo apprentice Chris Williams, Zarhron jumped well and quickly found the front.