MELBOURNE - Former leading jockey Patrick Payne added the Great Eastern Steeplechase to his resume when It's A Dud outstayed his opposition to win the Oakbank feature yesterday.
Payne landed his biggest win as a trainer when Capecover won the Adelaide Cup (3200m), beating stablemate Kerdem, at Morphettville last month.
The Cox Plate-winning jockey, who also tried his hand as a jumps rider, is making a name for himself as a good conditioner of stayers and jumpers.
A 7-year-old by Australian Cup winner Istidaad, It's A Dud ran fifth to Pentacolo in the 4950m race last year and was third to Sir Pentire in the 2009 Grand Annual Steeple (5500m) at Warrnambool.
The gelding indicated he was going well in the lead-up to Oakbank with a 2211m flat win at Balaklava before running second to Frenzilian in a 3250m Oakbank Steeple, both last month.
Payne topped off It's A Dud's preparation in a 3600m flat event at Oakbank on Saturday in which he finished sixth to Scenic Buzz.
Ridden by Steven Pateman, It's A Dud (A$5) wore down the John Wheeler-trained Yamanaura (A$4.20) to score by 1 lengths.
Last year's runner-up Mephistopheles (A$5.50) was 3 lengths away third.
The win was Pateman's second in the Great Eastern Steeple, which he also claimed aboard Conzeal in 2008.
The Ciaron Maher-trained favourite Pentacolo, who carried 69kg, was trying for back-to-back Great Eastern victories but found the 5kg weight rise from last year too much and he faded to finish fourth.
Maher had dominated the first three jumps events held over the Easter weekend at Oakbank with Art Success, also ridden by Pateman, winning yesterday's Yalumba Classic Hurdle (3600m).
On Saturday, Maher landed a double in the two jumps events with Satu San in the Woodford Reserve Hurdle (2900m) and Al Garhood winning the Von Doussa Steeple (3250m).
Art Success, the 2006 Brisbane Cup winner, ran third as favourite behind stablemate Satu San on Saturday at his jumps debut.
But the 8-year-old improved with the experience to land yesterday's A$100,000 feature hurdle.
Sent out at A$11, Art Success came away to score by 3 lengths from Sirrocean Storm (A$7.50) with Squire Rex (A$11) third.
Maher had three runners in the Classic Hurdle but the other two failed to finish, with Marc Of Thunder and Satu San falling.
