IT TOOK tough horses to win in wild, wet and windy conditions at Mowbray last night, and there was none tougher than Spot Nine.
The five-year-old Grant Hodges-trained gelding sat three-wide for the last lap before overpowering Ashkalini and Colours Of Lombo in the Walters Family Pace.
Part-owner Terry Knowles admitted later that at no stage during the race, except for right on the finish line, had he been confident of winning.
``I thought he was gone on the (home) corner,'' Knowles said.
``Even halfway up the straight he wasn't going to win.
``It was a tough performance.''
Knowles said that Spot Nine didn't help his own cause by ``lugging in'' and driver Erin Hollaway had to wait until he straightened up before putting him under full pressure.
``The horse has no sprint but he can stay all day,'' the part-owner said.
Spot Nine had been heading towards the Carrick Cup on Saturday week but last night's win might have put him out of contention.
``He'll have to start off 20 metres now, so I reckon Grant will look for something else,'' Knowles said.
Spot Nine is owned by the Jackpot Racing Syndicate, which Knowles said had ``nine official members and nine financial advisers (their wives).''
The ``tough horses'' theme continued when Breathing Fire won the Lara Floats Pace.
The seven-year-old had to work hard early before settling outside the leader but kept going for trainer-driver Brett Bailey to record her first win of the season.
Breathing Fire scored her biggest win in the 2009 Granny Smith Stakes and two of last night's other winners, Benediction and Daisy Adele, will be trying to emulate her in the $30,000 race at Devonport in April.
Costly mistake
MODERN Ruler lost first placing in the Hartz Mineral Water Stakes after breaking in the closing stages.
The gelding galloped for the last 70m or 80m of the race and, under a new rule introduced in October, stewards had no choice but to relegate him.
Chief steward Anthony O'Connell said that the rule gave stewards the power to alter the placings if a horse ``gains or maintains ground while in a break, to the detriment of other runners''.
``A driver must restrain a horse that is in a break, not allow it to maintain its position, and in this case the driver (James Johnson) did not do so until almost on the finish line,'' O'Connell said.
Modern Ruler's actions were deemed to be detrimental to both the second and third placegetters, so he was relegated two positions.
Tony Macarony became the winner and My Greek Mate the runner-up.
Johnson was suspended for two meetings.
Daring win
BRIGHTON-BASED junior driver Ben Rossendell won his first race for trainer Grant Hodges when he led all the way on Whodareswins in the Roberts Equine Pace.
It was his first drive for the stable.
Rossendell, 22, scored his only previous Mowbray win on Prettyboytroy last August.
He has also driven five winners in Hobart.
Rossendell works part-time for his uncle Daryl Bates and fellow trainer Rod Ashwood, as well as holding an outside job.
In the closest finish of the night, Whodareswins ($2.90 fav) snuck home by a head over dead-heaters Little Elf and Winnie Winalot.
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