Gosh Heza Rebel broke through for his first win in almost two years when he produced a game effort to win in the last stride at Tattersall's Park in Hobart on Monday night.
The Tony Petersen – trained seven-year-old was having seventh start for the season and had produced some game efforts leading up to the C1 event over 2090 metres.
With in-form novice driver Adrian Collins aboard, Gosh Heza Rebel began well from gate three but was eased out of the early action to take a sit one-out-one-back.
That became one-out-two-back when the well tried Cooked Books made a mid-race move to race around the field and face the breeze.
Collins eased his charge three-wide heading down the back straight the last time and when he moved alongside Cooked Books the pair sped clear of their rivals and engaged in a two-horse war all the way up the home straight.
Collins coaxed his charged until asking for the supreme effort 50 metres from the line.
Gosh Heza Rebel arrived in Tasmania from Victoria in April 2013 and scored consecutive wins at his third and fourth start in the state but he was unable to win again until this latest assignment on Monday night.
But the way he toughed it out in the straight would suggest Petersen has him back to his best so another win in the not too distant future is on the cards.
Peter Staples