Racegoers had to wait two and a half years to get their Mount Gambier Gold Cup fix and the emotions around the Allan Scott Glenburnie Racecourse last Friday ensured it was worth the wait.

There may have only been 1000 patrons allowed in the premises, but none left disappointed as perfect conditions put on a show for the 136th running of the Scott Group of Companies Mount Gambier Gold Cup with the Glenburnie turf glowing underneath the glistening sun.

After so many months without racing at the region’s headline track, there was a celebratory atmosphere with patrons delightfully dressed up and punters thoroughly examining the form guides in the hunt to find a winner.

Eight races were on the loaded program for cup day, but all eyes were on the only event to go beyond the 2km distance, which was the big one.

A strong field of 13 horses including many locals lined up at the gates to fight for the $54,750 Gold Cup and the fans lucky enough to secure a ticket lined the fence in anticipation.

Things did not get off to the greatest start for Sebonna trained by Mount Gambier’s Peter Hardacre as he struggled to find barrier 11.

Despite the small delay all jockeys started desperately vying for the front after the gate dropped to mark the long-awaited return of the Gold Cup.

Many of the predicted front runners including pre-race favourite Irish Butterfly were on the back foot early after slow starts, while Enbarr headed the field as they charged into the first turn.

As Enbarr increased its lead down the back straight, an unexpected guest did its best to join the race and fans were treated to the strange sight of the horses running side-by-side with a large truck heading in the same direction on the adjacent road.

Natural horsepower managed to complete the straight without being overtaken by the motored variety, but a classic was brewing in the race that mattered.

By the time the horses made their way around the final bend, at least four were in contention to win the dash to the line.

Ritratto, Guizot, Farooq and Sebonna were leading the way, but were joined by Clever Man, who was on a charge as the home straight beckoned.

With the volume in the crowd increasing, Clever Man stepped up the gears and surged ahead through the middle of the pack and gapped them.

But with a couple hundred metres to go, Killourney found some extra speed and put in a last-ditch sprint to try and steal the win.

However, it was too little too late as Clever Man held on by 0.4 of a length from Killourney in 2:07.540.

The top two finished more than two lengths in front of the next best which was Sebonna, while favourite Irish Butterfly completed the top five prize winners.

When Paul Gatt rode Clever Man with a starting price of $31 home to victory, it sparked wild celebrations around the stands with the trophy finally heading to some much-loved members of the local racing industry.

Few are more decorated than Trevor Little after spending 40 years on the MGRC committee and being handed life membership of the club and the prestigious OAM title.

However, he had never won a Gold Cup and broke through on Friday being an owner of Clever Man.

After being presented with the cup, Little struggled to hold back the tears.

“It is great to win the cup because it has always been a very hard race to win,” he said.

“I ran second twice in the ‘90s, so third time lucky here we are.”

Clever Man was also trained in the Blue Lake city by Trevor White, who is another stalwart of the local industry with his eyes on the gold cup for many years, but not getting his hands on it until now.

White described himself as a “hobby trainer” and has been completing the craft since 1976.

But his best finish at the Mount Gambier Gold Cup was third in the early nineties and he admitted the breakthrough win caught him by surprise.

“It is something you do not expect when you are running horses, but we have had a lot of fun with him (Clever Man),” White said.

“We knew he would run well and how honest he is, but I knew some of the other horses were above his class in ability.

“Paul rode him a treat, the race went a little bit different than what I expected.

“But Paul put him in a winnable position, so I was quite thrilled.”

White said Clever Man had been a joy to train from the beginning and already believes he is one of the best horses he has worked with across nearly 50 years in the industry.

“We have had some handy horses, but this one is shaping up to be best we have ever had,” he said.

“He is just the quietest natured horse.

“I am getting a bit of age in me, but he is so easy to ride and is such a pleasure animal.”

Proceedings opened with Keettom edging out Drink Then Kiss in the opening race of the day, while Eagles Forever finished 0.4 lengths ahead of Halo’s Quest in the TAB Benchmark 58 Handicap.

The Big Kahuna lived up to its favourite’s tag to give Hardacre a win before the trainer went back-to-back with Chill With Teejay.

Less than two lengths split the top seven in the Carlton Draught Blue Lake Handicap which was won by Prospectus, while the sixth race was cleaned up by favourite Spin The Reward.

With a starting price of $101 few expected Denominator to feature in the final race of the day, but it almost stole the show coming within a tenth of beating Our Ellie Rose at the finish.

It was a grandstand finish to a celebratory day at Glenburnie.