The Bjorn Baker-trained gelding was tardy out of the gates as it jumped dead last but had plenty in the tank on the home straight as it swooped past Bethpage ($3.50) and Miss Baltimore ($3.40), the latter being the daughter of decorated mare, Starspangledbanner.

And that's who all the betting money came for late as the Joseph Pride product turned the heads of punters in the shadows of the event.

It looked as though the volume would be warranted with 200 metres to go as Miss Baltimore held a narrow lead over her adversaries before Solva had his final say on the extreme outside.

"Coming to the corner I had to stoke him up a little bit," Buckley said.

"I think he's still very new and very raw among the horses... he's still learning his trade but once I got him into clear running, you could really feel him focus and hit the line hard."

It was the fast finish that led Buckley to believe the gelding will step things up in distance as his career progresses.

"He'll definitely be a 1400-metre horse or maybe even a mile horse," he said.

"I think it's just confidence... he still lacks a little bit of that and he's still a little bit green but he's a nice enough horse."

The hoop commented on the quality of opposition he went up against in race two on Monday, suggesting the talent that's coming to country meets nowadays is as good as it's ever been.

"Since the prize money has gone up, country meetings are virtually provincial meetings," he said.

"The provincial meetings are almost turning into city meetings... a lot of people come out these ways now."

According to Buckley, it's no surprise fresh competitors are heading West more often as the Towac Park conditions are as good as they ever have been.

"It's always been a good track to me," he said.

"I used to ride here a lot when I was an apprentice. I've been riding for 20-odd years and my father used to ride here as well so it's been a good spot for us."

Goulburn's James Ponsonby was stoked to see Hot Bahama ($4.80) get off the mark in the first as jockey Winona Costin had a comfy ride after the gelding led from start to finish over the 1400 metres.

He held off a late surge from Dawn Flight ($11) who defied a drift in the betting market to run a close second.

Gossip ($6.50) got the job done for Connie Greig in the third event of the afternoon as it overcame an awkward draw to battle home to win by half a length.

David Smith's The Poet ($2) was plummeting in the betting market all day but failed to figure after a decent start.