SYDNEY - Pay Me Christian will head to Perth after finishing third in the A$110,000 ($128,000) Treuer Memorial at Bankstown on Saturday night.
The exciting New Zealand pacer was beaten for speed from the mobile start by Interdominion winner Blacks A Fake, who then led throughout to winby 3m from Make Me Smile with a 6m gap to Pay Me Christian.
Canterbury trainer Paul Kerr said the group one event came down to who started best and Blacks A Fake's brilliance in that area won the night for driver Natalie Rasmussen.
"Natalie's horse was just too good," Kerr said.
Kerr wasn't fazed by his horse again being beaten out of the gate, saying Blacks A Fake was a brilliant beginner and Pay Me Christian got away as quickly as any of the others in the race.
He said there was not much point in Pay Me Christian's driver David Butt attacking for the lead as Blacks A Fake would have held him out on the tight-turning 800m Bankstown track.
As it was Blacks A Fake was able to set a slow pace, clocking 3min 15.60sec for the 2540m, a mile rate of 2min 04.5secs.
Kerr said Pay Me Christian would travel to Melbourne tomorrow before heading to Perth, where he will compete in the A$150,000 Golden Nugget at Gloucester Park on December 15.
The race is for four-year-olds and will represent a drop in class after taking on Australia's top guns in the Miracle Mile and the Treuer at his last two starts.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, Canterbury mare Foreal just missed out on winning the Cranbourne Cup, beaten half a neck by The Warp Drive.
