MELBOURNE athlete Daniel Sonsini has continued his love affair with central Victoria after sprinting to victory in Sunday's $5000 Castlemaine Gift (120m).
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The Wantirna-based sprinter kept his best for last after Kristefer Kardakovski and Leigh Phelan qualified fastest for the final by winning their respective heats.
But it was Sonsini, off 7m, who held his cool in the final to win in a time of 12.37 seconds.
Phelan (9.75m) held on for second ahead of Nathan Riali (4m).
Sonsini's win made amends for a third placing the previous day in the final of the $2000 Daylesford Gift (100m).
It was the first Gift to be run and won at Castlemaine since 2000, with the meeting going into recess for 17 years.
Melbourne's Elizabeth Ruach, off 9m, showed her rivals a clean pair of heels to win the feature women's 120m race ahead of Anna Pasquali and Kim McDonough.
It was the second leg of winning double for Ruach, who earlier won the under-120 120m, narrowly ahead of White Hill's Jake Hilson.
Meanwhile, Sydney runner Elly Graf made history on Saturday at Cricket Willow by becoming the first woman to win the Daylesford Gift in its 12-year history.
Graf set the standard for the entire day as she won her heat to advance to the semi-final stage, she then qualified for the final with the quickest time, 10.84 seconds, to be among the favourites in the field of six.
The 25-year-old then produced a brilliant run off her handicap of 15 metres to upstage a quality field with a time of 10.73 seconds.
Graf said she surprised herself with such a good run and said it was an honour to be the first woman to win the Gift.
“I don’t know where I pulled that final run from at that time, but I’m quite happy with it,” Graf said.
“It was lovely to be the first woman, it’s always good to make a bit of history – it makes it even better.”
Reigning Gift winner Michael Kember, from New South Wales, had to settle for third.
It was a successful trip to Daylesford for White Hills athlete Greg Hillson, who won the open 400m in 49.7 seconds, off a handicap of 59m.
Strathfieldsaye's Michell Prece, off 80m, and Bendigo's David Spence, off 110m, filled the minor placings in the open 1600m behind Shepparton's Joshua Salt (185m).
- with Daniel Short
