SHAUN Dwyer's patience with stayer Tampere was rewarded at Bendigo on Wednesday.
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The Bendigo trainer has always had a good opinion of the son of Kempinsky, but in his previous 21 starts he'd only won once.
With champion hoop Damien Oliver in the saddle, Tampere relished the step up to 2200m to win the $30,000 Tom Torpy/Donbradean Showcase Handicap.
"Some of these stayers take a little while (to mature),'' Dwyer said..
"He did the job well today and, hopefully, he goes on with it from here."
It was Oliver's fourth ride on Tampere and he rated the four-year-old to perfection.
"Ollie rode him as a 2YO and was impressed with him then,'' Dwyer said.
"He's just about the best jockey there is."
Tampere ($5.50) proved too good for jumping star Bashboy ($21), with the Sean Mott-trained Kaptain Kempinsky ($8) making strong late ground to run third.
Oliver said Tampere would be suited to metropolitan-class staying races in the winter.
"Things worked out really well for for him today, Shaun had him spot on and he won well,'' Oliver said.
"This time of year in town would be ideal for him. When it gets into winter the staying races don't get much harder than what he beat today."
Meanwhile, hobby trainer Daniel Kelly celebrated one of the biggest wins of his career when Hunters Grace took out the $129,000 Inglis Vobis Gold Plate (1000m).
Hunters Grace surged clear of hot favourite Theycallmethehoff in the final furlong to win by more than two lengths.