The judge took a while to find a margin between three-year-olds Eye For An Eye and Rezone but Michael Kent Jr couldn’t care which way the photo went.
Kent Jr and training partner Mick Price prepared both promising stayers, who crossed the line locked together at the end of the Sportsbet Fast Form Handicap (2000m).
The found the slightest of margins in favour of the $2.80 favourite Rezone, forcing the Irish-bred Eye For An Eye ($16) to settle for second.
Kent Jr said there was a significant margin between the duo at trackwork on Wednesday morning but Eye For An Eye lifted on race day to almost upset his more fancied stablemate.
“It was an agonising photo but in a good way,” Kent Jr said.
“Eye For An Eye was very gallant and there was a margin between the two when they galloped on Tuesday morning on a bog track.
“He’s a real race day horse, Eye For An Eye.”
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Rezone had not won before his success in Saturday’s $150,000 contest but Kent Jr said he and Price held the son of Dundeel in high regard.
Kent Jr and jockey Beau Mertens noted Rezone had to work into the race from a long way out, which added merit to the gelding’s win.
“I was thinking probably about the 700m that they maybe got away from me a little bit too much but, to his credit, he’s such a nice horse to ride and he really towed me into it from the 600m,” Mertens said.
“He did everything himself.
“When he hit the front, he wanted to have a look around and a bit of a think about it so he’s got a lot of upside.”