Race 8 was the final race of the Bacchus Competition. Francesca Bellicini in her maiden Feral run took out line honours for the 9km course, she also set the fastest time for females on the extended long course for the year. Bellicini was followed home by Lina Sergi then Simon Fattore.
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Further back in the field the battle for the trophy was being played out.
The 3.3km course turned out to be a handicapper's dream with the first 12 runners all crossing the line in a space of less than a minute. Callum Vecchio entered the final race 17 points ahead of Anthony Trafilo and was the favourite to win the competition.
It didn't help Trafilo's prospects when last week he missed the start by 30 seconds then added a fall during the run finishing 16th rather than his usual high-ranking place. Vecchio and Trafilo fought all the way to the line. Both ran PB times for the competition.
In the end it was Digby Jones 1st, Vecchio 2nd just three seconds ahead of Trafilo 3rd and this result was enough for Vecchio to claim the trophy his third trophy now after claiming this one and the Surfer competition in 2019.
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Meanwhile in the 9km course well-known horse-racing enthusiast Vince Restagno was the favourite, 23 points ahead of Adrian Baird who unfortunately missed race 5.
Baird did his part by running a PB and taking 4th place, but he needed Restagno to fall back to a low placing. It was never going to happen, Restagno was pumped, you would have needed wings to catch him.
Restagno's hero Phar Lap contested three Melbourne Cups, 1929 running 3rd, 1930 1st and 1931 despite being heavily handicapped he ran 6th.
In this competition Restagno has run 2nd, 1st, 9th, 3rd, 1st 4th, 3rd, and finally despite being dealt a massive handicap he with a PB finish a creditable 6th.
This proved to be enough to claim the trophy yet again. It was also his in 2012, 2007, 2003 and 1999, plus the Surfer in 2015. Restagno and Phar Lap Australian racing legends.
There will be no run on the Hill next Saturday, we will all be resting from a big effort at the Bacchus on Friday.
Next run on the Hill is Winter Race 1 on April 10, at the normal (not Daylight Saving) time of 4:30pm.
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