Jockey Jarrod Fry was the lucky recipient of last-minute pick up ride, guiding Yulong January to victory at Pakenham.
Ben Melham was stood down with a wrist injury following Saturday’s Pakenham Cup, in which he finished fifth aboard Carzoff.
He had to forgo the ride on Yulong January in the $150,000 VOBIS Gold Bullion.
Fry had not previously ridden Yulong January in a race or trackwork, but it mattered little as he took the gelding straight to the lead.
Sent out the $3.60 favourite, Yulong January recorded his second win on end with a 1-1/4 length victory from Amadeus ($17) with Kazio ($18) a half-length away third.
Yulong January is trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace who were both absent from Saturday’s meeting, overseas on business.
Maher is in Hong Kong for Sunday’s international race day with Eustace back home in the UK.
Fry rode a winner for the training partners at Bendigo last month.
“I only got the call up basically as Ben called for the doctor,” Fry said.
“Only last week I picked up a ride for Ciaron and Dave that got the money, so hopefully it might lead to a few more.”
Yulong January’s victory denied runner-up Amadeus a third win in the VOBIS Gold Bullion after victories in 2017 and 2018.