Mudgee trainer Cameron Crockett was on crutches but he was all smiles after his enigmatic stallion Socks The Fox scored a dominant win in Sunday's $26,000 Narromine Cup (1600m). Aided by a brilliant Mathew Cahill ride, the five-year-old camped just off the speed and found the fence, despite starting from the outside barrier in the nine-horse field.
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Punters had a difficult time separating Double Halo ($3.00 fav, Samantha Clenton) and Socks The Fox, which started a $3.20 elect, and their judgement was spot on as the pair fought out a thrilling finish.
Double Halo was part of a three-way joust for the early lead with Mabrouk ($15.00, Anthony Cavallo) and Cool Ice ($6.00, James Innines), with the riders obviously anticipating a lack of pace.
In the end those tactics played into the hands of Socks The Fox, which stalked the pace before being presented three wide rounding the turn before going on to win by one-and-three-quarter lengths from Double Halo, with outsider Storm Runner ($31.00, Jeff Kehoe) running out of its skin for third.
Crockett recently had pins removed from a previous leg injury but he was thrilled with the result.
"He's a funny horse this one. When he puts his mind on the job he doesn't get beaten too often and he was obviously on today," Crockett said.
"His last run at Warren when he got beat behind Double Halo I'm convinced he was in the worst part of the track and he didn't get beaten far.
"I spoke with Mathew before the race today and we worked out that if there was no pace we'd be happy to lead but I was happy when the others took off because I prefer him ridden with a sit. I always thought he would get a mile, but there were plenty of others that said he wouldn't, so I get a bit of satisfaction out of watching him win like that."
For Cahill, the early pace turned the race into a sit-and-steer job and he admitted he was confident a long way from home.
"He travelled really well today and just relaxed and felt great through the run," Cahill said.
"When Double Halo hit the front I was still travelling well, and I knew he was my main danger so I was confident I could run him down.
"At Warren the other day Socks didn't really let down that well but he did today, and he did when he won at Mudgee two starts back as well.
"Being a stallion he probably has days when his mind isn't entirely on racing but it was today and it was good to win a good race for Cameron and the owners."
The win was the sixth of Socks The Fox's career from 18 starts and took his earnings past $71,000.
