Boomtown Boss delivered Tony Gollan a second Aurie's Star Handicap at Flemington, winning the Group 3 feature by a neck from Royal Insignia.
The $13 chance had a luckless Brisbane winter carnival, but Gollan believed a trip south and the straight track could spark him.
"He profiles as a horse who loves big tracks and a lot of room so I felt that for a little while he would make a nice straight horse," Gollan said.
"During his winter prep, he was going nowhere and when I zigged I should have zagged, everything was going wrong. I knew this race was on the cards so I backed off him after the Eye Liner Stakes and sent him to Ciaron's at Cranbourne to really settle him in. I thought the trip away, and with straight racing, I thought it would suit him and through the race he was travelling alright."
The race lost its early favourite, War Machine, who was a late scratching after bursting through the starting stalls. Connections of runner-up Royal Insignia ($8.50) protested against winning jockey Daniel Moor for excessive whip use. Stewards found evidence of excessive use but the margin of a neck was enough to keep the result unchanged.
Moor said: "He came her a bit unknown down the straight and he did wander about a bit and change legs a lot, but you just know that when you're on a Tony Gollan horse that they are well prepared."
Gollan had previously won the Aurie's Star in 2011 with Temple Of Boom.
Touchdown takes the 1620m feature
Earlier on the programme, Lindsay Park's Touchdown continued his promising Australian career with a two-length win in the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale at Flemington.
The former New Zealand galloper, bought by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, improved his record to five wins and three placings from nine starts. Second-up after a second over 1400m at Sandown, the $1.95 favourite defeated the Danny O'Brien-trained Fahrr Flung ($12), with Kaleo ($5.50) a further 2¼ lengths away in third.
Co-trainer Ben Hayes said: "Although he didn't at Sandown, it was still a great run. We had to get back from the draw on a heavy track first-up and he was super through the line. He really came through it well. This time he had to a bit more work than we thought but it was an easy watch in the end and he was strong through the line and there were nice spacings back to second and third."
"I think there is a lot more to come and he is an exciting horse going forward," Hayes added. "It is always good when they run well at this place and there are a lot of nice races to win. We're not going to get too carried away with him yet and we'll go through the grades with him but he may end up in a nice race in the spring."
Touchdown gave Blake Shinn his second winner on the card on the jockey's return from a long injury layoff. "He's a raw talent, I feel and he's not the furnished product," Shinn said. "I love that he's got a great length of stride and I think he'll get better as he gets further."