There was a stunning form reversal on display at Quirindi on Monday.
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Sadler's Rest had lost his last four starts by an average of 6.6 lengths before the Craig Martin-trained gelding produced a barnstorming effort to win the tab.com.au Class 1 Handicap over 1450m.
The six-year-old sat third last entering the bend but shot down the middle of the track to claim the win by one and a half lengths over John Ramsey's Sir Clooney. The Cody Morgan-trained Jahbath was another length back in third.
An eight-week break proved fruitful.
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"He, sort of, failed at Armidale over 1900m so I gave him a break to get the sprint back in his legs," the Tamworth trainer said.
"And he probably just needed that run last start to get fitness on his side.
"Today, everything fell into place. Hot speed, he got back...got wide and it helped being in the middle of the track. Quirindi can be a bit tricky sometimes."
It was Sadler's Rest second career win and first in over 12 months.
Martin said the bay gelding was "a bit of a quirky horse" but had been showing promising signs at the stable.
"He has a bit of a breathing problem, so we put a tongue tie on so he can breathe a bit better but he resents the tongue tie," Martin said.
"And he doesn't like going between horses. Took a few runs to work it all out but he's been working really well.
"Lucky today they went harder up front and he didn't have to go through anything."
Sadler's Rest "works like a stayer" and is likely step up to the mile next start. Martin said there were plenty of options thanks to the gelding's low benchmark rating.
