IDLE Hands set a new track record on his way to a new stable after winning last night's 2730m Psarakis Accounting Marathon at Tamworth Paceway.
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The Dean Germon-trained six-year-old gelding son of Falcon Seelster won his sixth race at his past nine starts when he overpowered a good field in the staying test.
With Josh Osborn in the gig, Idle Hands won by 6m from the Julie Weidemann-trained Major Deed with stablemate Mister Elegant 1.5m away third and another stablemate, Mister Skye Rocket, fourth.
Mister Skye Rocket was having his 401st start and Mister Elegant his 161st while Idle Hands was a mere juvenile at his 62nd run for his young Tamworth trainer in a race where race sponsor Terry Psarakis was appropriate when seeing the 400-plus Mister Skye Rocket parade.
"It's appropriate," he laughed.
"We Greeks know all about marathons."
Tamworth chairman Terry Browne, a great cricketing mate of Psarakis's over many years at the South Tamworth Cricket Club and with Tamworth representative teams, laughed too about the appropriateness of the long distance race and the fact Mister Skye Rocket was racing for the 401st time.
"And his stablemate, Mister Elegant, has had 160 starts too," Browne said.
"It's a great race."
They were hoping to make it a 3000m-plus race but HRNSW refused their request.
For Osborn, the driving win was a bonus.
"He's going to Josh on Monday," Germon told The Leader.
"I'm having a break for a while.
“He's getting three of mine."
Osborn was delighted with both decisions and was always well placed in running, sitting three back on the pegs until the final back straight where the race broke apart and he was able to extricate Idle Hands into the clear.
"They had gone pretty hard," he said.
"Once I got out I was pretty confident."
It was the first time he'd driven in a 2730m race at Tamworth and Idle Hands' 3min 28secs (with a mile rate of 2:02) bettered the previous track record by .86secs.
Leighmont had set that mark in August 2014, clocking 3min 28.86sec.
"I can't remember having a track record before," Osborn said.
"They said I might have set one at Inverell one day but I don't think it was."
It was Germon's first track record and he was delighted with the fact his "little pony" had won a couple of races over the mile before last night's Marathon.
I can't remember having a track record before. They said I might have set one at Inverell one day but I don't think it was.
- Josh Osborn
"He's a great little pony," he said.
"He's done a great job for us this season. We've just kept him on the fresh side."
Idle Hands started at good odds of $10.70, with second placegetter Major Deed the $3.30 favourite.