FOR a decade Bathurst trainer Andrew Ryan had been trying his hardest to win a Highway Handicap race at Royal Randwick.
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His long pursuit finally came to an end in spectacular fashion on Saturday.
Possibly So came across to the $120,000 race as a $34 shot and when he came out from the barriers in his typically slow fashion he would need to produce something special to get to the front.
The gelding might have been a little out of sorts this preparation but he showed a stunning turn of foot to charge through the middle of the pack under the control of Anthony Cavallo to win by a head.
Highway Handicap races give country trainers the opportunity to race for city-level prizemoney on metro tracks but require a talented horse to get the job done.
Ryan said it was a delight to see his stable star back at his best in such a big race.
"That's the way he races. He tends to give away a bit at the start but it was very pleasing to see him finish like that, because he's been a little bit out of form," he said.
"Last time in he was going so well but we'd be struggling a bit with him. This race was a bit of a change and it was great. From the half mile the horse seemed to travel and thought he might be in the finish.
"We'd had blinkers on him and it seemed to have been the thing that had turned it around, but lately he just wasn't switching on with them.
"Without the blinkers in this race he was a completely different horse."
It's the latest chapter in the career of a horse that's brought the Ryan stable much joy.
Purchased for just $2,000, the five-year-old son of Star Witness had won three races from his 18 starts prior to Saturday's success.
The weekend's big acceleration hasn't come without precedent.
Possibly So showed a similar burst of speed to finish a narrow runner-up in last year's CDRA Country Championships qualifier in Mudgee.
"That was a really similar finish. He flew that day," Ryan said.
"He's got a good finish, just switching him on is the thing."
Sydney trips have been an ongoing thing for Ryan ever since the Highway Handicap series was first introduced over the 2015-16 season by Racing NSW.
He's had his share of close calls in the past but can now finally tick it off the to-do list.
"Since those Highway races started we've been trying to win one and it's taken all this time, but it was worth the wait," he said.
"That was our first win in one. We've run probably four seconds. It's one of those things where I was starting to wonder whether I'd win one.
"It's a real carrot. It's something that all country trainers would love to win."
Ryan will once again be aiming Possibly So for another Country Championships tilt in 2024.
The Central Districts heat will once again take place in Mudgee this year, with the event to be held on February 25.
The next day of racing in the Central Districts takes place this Tuesday in Orange.