Payne saddled up Kiwi raider Sea King to win a second-straight Mosstrooper Steeplechase, while Weir won two of the three hurdle races, including the Brendan Drechsler Hurdle with Zanteco.

Sea King’s gutsy win in the Mosstrooper Steeplechase was full of merit.

The nine-year-old, who had to carry the topweight of 70kg, looked in trouble when roughie Gold A Plenty showed plenty of dash to open up a lead at the top of the straight.

Under the urging of jockey Steve Pateman, Sea King fought hard and reeled in Gold A Plenty in the shadows of the post. Wells continued his good form to run third.

Zanteco’s win continued Weir’s stunning run in the Brendan Drechsler Hurdle. He won the first three runnings of the race with champion jumper Gotta Take Care.

Zanteco was the outsider of Weir’s two runners in the race, but he proved too strong for King Of Dudes and stablemate Gingerboy, who was the odds-on favourite. 

A great ride from Jamie Mott helped Zanteco over the line.

“I didn’t want Gingerboy to zip off and lead me by three or four lengths so I tried to get on terms with him at the five or six-hundred and thankfully my horse was full of running,” Mott said.

Weir’s other winner over the jumps was Try Four’s victory in the Maiden Hurdle.

Meanwhile, Bendigo trainer Brian Gentle gave the bookies something to smile about when his despised outsider Rushmore won the final event of the day over 1300m.

First-up from a spell, Rushmore raced on the speed and fought on gamely in the straight to win impressively.

Rushmore’s only previous win was over the staying distance of 2200m.

“We might keep him to shorter distances this time in,’’ Gentle said after the race.

“We were always confident he could handle a wet track, but we weren’t sure how he’d go on a heavy track.”