Emma Pritchard

Wyong trainer Damien Lane was confident his five-year-old gelding Too Good To Be Tru had won the 2023 Maclean Bowling Club Maclean Cup on July 16.

But when the stewards took longer and longer to announce the winner of the 1400m feature event in a photo finish, he admitted to feeling less certain of success.

“I thought we’d won, but I was worried for a little while,” he admitted during a post-race interview.

“Thankfully, the photo went in our favour.”

Aided by a rail hugging ride by jockey Ashley Morgan, Too Good To Be Tru was second up from a spell, and put his nose down where it counted to narrowly defeat the short-priced favourite Bean Foggy.

New Zealand bred galloper Savvy Lad (NZ) was two lengths away in third place.

“He’s owned by some good friends of mine, and I’m really happy he got the win for them today,” Lane said.

“We’ll see how he pulls up and then pick out a couple of other suitable races for him, but the Coonamble Cup in early October is another good race we want to aim him towards.”

Representatives from the Maclean Bowling Club, who have sponsored the race for almost 40 years, congratulated the winning connections of Too Good To Be Tru following the race, adding they felt proud to continue their close association with the Clarence River Jockey Club (CRJC) during the July Racing Carnival.