If you backed short-priced favourite Send It in Wednesday night's Bathurst meeting you might have been pulling a few hairs out or chomping through your fingernails during the opening strides.
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The $1.25 chance reared up at the green light during the Graeme Board & Co Sale Graduate Prelude (1730 metres) and trainer-driver Brad Hewitt fought hard to get his gelding back on course.
Send It got back into stride as the field entered the opening turn.
Relieved punters then had the chance to watch Send It show his class and produce a comfortable five-metre win ahead of the field.
The behaviour is nothing new for the hot-headed Western Terror gelding, who recently took out the Bathurst Gold Crown Gold Consolation.
"I'd done a little bit wrong early there," Hewitt said post-race.
"He's still a little bit immature but he was good enough to get the job done."
At the race start it was the two inside starters and Gold Tiara finalists, York Minster and Katalytic, fighting it out for the lead.
Send It worked forward from gate four but started to hang as he drew near the leading pair.
Hewitt got his favourite settled down on the turn but was caught out three wide thanks to Woodlands Wonder working forward on the outside line.
Once he was back into a pace Send It started the charge and got to the race lead before the bell.
The pressing question was whether Send It had used up too much energy trying to wrestle back control of the race.
York Minster sat behind the new leader, Katalytic had the death seat and the race's next best-backed hope Watchful Lady ($8) was last on the inside line.
Hewitt was quick to bring down the tempo of the race with a pair of quarters over the 30-second mark.
Send It opened up a small break on the turn for home and the Gold Tiara finalists behind him weren't going to bring him back.
Katalytic faded badly over the closing 400 and York Minster maintained the gap to Send It without threatening.
Hewitt's gelding wasn't going to be stopped in the battle of the two-year-olds as he cruised home in a 1:59.2 mile rate.
To The Lookout ($26) and No Nay Never ($14) made big dives down the outside in the battle for minor places.
Wendy Turnbull's To The Lookout got the nod in a photo finish.
Bernie Hewitt was the only trainer to double up with victories at Wednesday night's meeting.
Scarlet Babe won the Bathurst Toyota Pace (1730m) before Gold Chalice runner-up College Chapel won a thrilling duel against Myra Dawn (Amanda Turnbull) in the Ballinger Transport Pace (1730m).
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