At his second run in Victoria since moving to Macedon Lodge, Durban Harbour was an impressive winner of the CA Sinclair Pork Wholesalers BM56 Handicap (2100 METRES) on a Soft 6 track at Benalla yesterday.
Ridden by promising apprentice Beau Treloar, who claimed 3kg, the victory was impressive as he raced forward on the pace, and whilst he would have been justified in weakening late, to the contrary, he was stronger to the line than his rivals in a very good staying effort.
Hearts were in mouths across Australia for 100m or so, however, when Beau angled the gelding towards a tight gap along the rails and it took a few strides for that head to poke through and the long stride to come into effect, and he held the field at bay to the line.
This is the first win for the stable this season since returning to Macedon Lodge with a larger team, and we expect it is the start of many, given the way the horses are flourishing.
For Durban, surely more wins are in store on that effort, and John Symons did make an ambitious nomination into the Caulfield Cup in October. Whilst there is a lot of water to flow under the bridge for that to occur, clearly the team have an opinion of him.
Congratulations to the ownership group, and to the Symons Laxon Racing team!