aaron_bain | Aaron Bain News 59699 Esky

Top South Australian jockey Jason Holder showed why he is at the peak of his profession with an outstanding ride to land Esky a winner on Gawler Cup day, Friday, October 25.

Esky landed some good bets in winning first up for trainers Aaron Bain and Ned Taylor in the Magain Fielke Real Estate Gawler Benchmark 56 Handicap (1700m).

The win brought up a double for the trainers and Holder as they had combined earlier in the day with Dubai Focus.

After opening at $11, Esky firmed to $5.50, then was backed in again eventually starting at $.40.

The five-year-old began fairly and Holder allowed him to get in a rhythm back at the tail of the field before staying inside and railing through to midfield.

Holder came away from the inside at the 600-metre mark and angled him to the outside turning for home.

Esky extended quickly to grab the lead and fought on well to score by a half-length from Starts Now ($8.50) with Eventually ($3.10 fav), a long neck away third.

Bain said Esky had shown he was quite simply a stayer.

“Ned and I gave him plenty of work to ensure he was ready to tackle the 1700 metres today,” Bain said.

“Jason rode him superbly saving him for the one run and he was good enough to win.

“Esky has now won two races for us, and I think he can pick up a few more over middle distances.”

Winning jockey Jason Holder said Esky had impressed with his victory.

“That was a good training performance by Aaron and Ned to have him first up over 1700 metres,” Holder said.

“He travelled good in the run back on the fence.

“He always felt like he was going okay, the speed was on, and he loved that.

“I presented him out and he did the rest.

“Esky had had enough on the line, but he held them off.

“Very good first up run.”