Megalomaniac with his happy connections at Riccarton. Photo: Riccarton Facebook Page
The Andrew Carston-trained Megalomaniac continued his affinity with the Riccarton synthetic surface with a win over 1200m on Thursday.
Two starts back the four-year-old son of Pure Champion was in a dead heat for second on the same track but left no doubt about who was the best horse in the race this time around.
Megalomaniac was partnered by top jockey Lisa Allpress and the pair took the patient approach, sitting back in the field before gradually making ground and then charging home down the straight to win by one and a half lengths.
Carston admitted he hadn't rated his chances going into the race and was pleasantly surprised by the result.
"He clearly likes the poly," Carston said. "Two runs back he went super and he was even better today.
"I wouldn't say I was confident going into the race so I am very happy with the result. He did a good job for a good group of owners."
Megalomaniac is likely to return to Riccarton in a fortnight for their next meeting on the synthetic track.