Dillinger fires

Dillinger gave his rivals a galloping lesson with a brilliant win on the Ballarat Synthetic on Friday, July 5.

A well backed $2.20 favourite, jockey Beau Mertens allowed Dillinger to find the front from barrier rise in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Benchmark 64 Handicap (1500m).

The Tony & Calvin McEvoy-trained four-year-old controlled the tempo before extending over the final 300 metres and winning easily by six lengths.

Perfect Gold ($10) chased hard to finish second, three-quarters of a length in front of Allibor ($7).

Trainer Tony McEvoy was relieved to see Dillinger win so well.

“What an impressive win,” McEvoy said.

“The plan was never to lead but he just lobbed there.

“He had a beautiful run with no pressure and Beau (Mertens) was lovely on him, nice and smooth.

“The horse just loved it and let rip and strode out beautifully.

“I have been singing Dillinger’s praises for such a long time.

“I have been disappointed and frustrated that he hasn’t got us to level we had been hoping for.

“It (his ability) is still in there and I know we are still in the small grades but that was as impressive win as you could see.

“There are more wins in store.”

Winning jockey Beau Mertens said it had been a comprehensive victory.

“He was fantastic,” Mertens said.

“He jumped well, there was not much pressure like we had been expecting.

“I was happy to roll to the front and he travelled extremely well.

“We had an uncontested lead which was great, then from the 600 metres I really let him click through his gears.

“He felt extremely well underneath me.

“He sprinted really well from the top of the straight and it was a dominant win.”