JAMES BOAG’S

PREMIUM RAILWAY

STAKES (GROUP 1)

BEATEN a nose two weeks earlier in the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes at Ascot in Perth, Great Shot held off eastern state invaders to win the first Group 1 of Perth’s Summer carnival, the Railway Stakes.

Stepping up to the 1,600 metres of the $1 million handicap, Great Shot went to the front and stayed there. The Magnus gelding defeated the former West Australian-trained Black Heart Bart, with perennial Group 1 placegetter Tom Melbourne in third.

Ridden by Craig Staples, Great Shot is trained by 26-year-old Rhys Radford, who said: “I thought he’d run a great race. I couldn’t get him any better, so we were just hoping his best was good enough.

“I’ve never had a horse try as hard as he does. It’s really a credit to him, he never gives it away. I couldn’t be happier. Give it a day or two to sink in.”