MORNINGTON’S Matt Carter sprinted to consecutive victories in the $15,000 Bendigo Bank Maryborough Gift (120m) on New Year’s Day.Carter, 22, joined an elite group in winning the sprint classic at the 150th Maryborough Highland Gathering for a second time.Racing off a mark of 2.25m, Carter beat Mount Eliza’s Benjamin Weaver (6.50m) and New South Wales athlete Richard Hankin (5.50m) in a closely-fought finish at Maryborough’s Princes Park.The winning time was 12.97 seconds, but thousands of hours had gone into his build-up.“This is unbelievable,” Carter said shortly after racing to victory. “It’s an amazing feeling to have won the Maryborough Gift again.”Carter, who collected $8000 for his win in the Gift final, said a “quality field” which included Robert Lehmann, Nick Magree, Peter Walsh, Simon Menz and Bros Kelly made him work extremely hard to clinch back-to-back titles.In the first of 10 heats, Carter won in 12.80 seconds from Kevin Brittain.“Today was always going to be a lot tougher than a year ago,” Carter said of pursuing back-to-back Maryborough Gift wins.In 2010 he raced off five metres.“Being back two-and-three-quarters was always going to be a challenge.”But it was a challenge he responded to brilliantly. In the semis, Weaver won from Carter, and placings were reversed in the major showdown watched by thousands. At 40m to go, Carter was within a metre or two of the leaders.“I was fairly confident of my chances, but only in the last stride or two did I think I had the race won,” said the Bruce Gulliver-trained sprinter.Carter’s win capped a great day for the Gulliver stable after Tom Templeton won the open 70m.“It’s been a great day,” said Carter, whose dad, Richard reached the veterans 300m final.Matt Carter’s 2010-11 season includes victory in the Peninsula Gift in early December.The myotherapist will take a few weeks’ break from racing to plot his next attack on the VAL circuit.A major goal in 2011 will be to contest the 100m and 200m at the national championships in mid-April.Carter said the Bendigo Thousand (120m) at the Bendigo International Madison carnval in early March was on the cards, along with contesting this year’s Stawell Gift and Ballarat Gift.Having ruled the track on new year’s day the past two years, Carter aims to return on January 1, 2012, to chase a hat-trick of Gift titles at Maryborough’s Princes Park.