Co-trainer Wayne Hawkes conceded the bungled start of favourite Dark Halo had made the task of Gitalong that much easier at Moonee Valley.
Dark Halo, sent out the $1.80 betting site favourite, reared as the start was affected and was five lengths behind the leaders after 200m in the Summer Membership On Sale Now Handicap (1000m) on Saturday.
While Dark Halo was able to make up the ground to be challenging for the lead turning for home, the effort told, and the colt weakened in the run home to finish last of the four runners.
Ridden by Jye Mcneil, Gitalong ($3.50) led throughout in scoring a 2-2/12 length win from Links ($5) with Our Cracklin Rosie ($10) three-quarters-of-a-length away third.
Hawkes, who trains in partnership with his father John and brother Michael, said he hated small fields.
“I was standing with John McArdle and Mathew Ellerton, and I said the worst thing you want is for them all to jump together and be caught four-wide outside the lot of them,” Hawkes said.
“One blew the start and that certainly helped us.
“He (Gitalong) probably went a bit slow, if anything, but I said to Jye to keep him balanced as he only arrived on Friday morning.”
Saturday’s victory was Gitalong’s third in a row after the gelding had scored back-to-back victories at Hawkesbury and Warwick Farm.
Hawkes put Gitalong’s winning streak down to a gelding operation following his two-year-old campaign.
“He was here this time last year and ran in the Magic Millions race at Ballarat and Ben Melham got off him and said he was a lovely horse, but not that interested,” Hawkes said.
“It’s amazing what that (gelding) operation does to them.
“He’s been here before, so we waited until Thursday night to bring him down and he went into the same box he was in before.
“We haven’t looked past today, but he’s now stacked three-on-three and you can’t do more than that.
“Not many horses win three races in their careers, let alone three in a row.”