Sly Boots shows tenacity to win at Randwick

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Sly Boots had taken the lead in the ATC Thank You Stable Staff Handicap (1800m), but Perfect Justice launched a stern challenge down the centre of the famous Randwick straight.

Co-trainer Bott confessed to fearing the worst as Perfect Justice gained ground on Sly Boots.

"I thought that the other horse (Perfect Justice) was going to go straight past us,'' Bott said. "But to Sly Boots' credit he really dug deep and found a way to win. He's been up a while but has been racing very consistently without winning so he deserved to win this today."

Sly Boots ($4.80), under a well-judged ride from Rachel King, resisted a determined Perfect Justice ($4.20) by a half-neck, with the favourite Trapalanda ($3.50) a further three-quarters of a length adrift in third.

King also felt Perfect Justice was going to be hard to hold out when he came after Sly Boots.

"But Sly Boots saw him coming and he raised another effort,'' King said. "I think the drier track helped and he really wanted to win today."

Bott was uncertain about immediate plans for Sly Boots, who improved his race record to five wins and seven placings from 27 starts, elevating his career earnings past $400,000.

"We might look at a similar type of race in the next couple of weeks,'' Bott said.

John Sargent's charge, Perfect Justice, continued his consistent winter campaign, but this marked his third second placing in his last four outings. His sole triumph came in a Midway event over 1600m when he edged out The Mona Lisa earlier this month.

It is difficult to find fault with Perfect Justice's performance, though the gelding was forced to race wide on the turn and sustain a long run. Conversely, the victor conserved energy by ducking back to the inside, a tactical advantage that likely proved decisive given the minimal margin separating the two.

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