Outstanding three-year-old Scott Base overcame a chequered home straight run to snatch victory by a camera pixel in the group two Phill Cataldo Bloodstock Wellington Guineas (1400m).
The Dalghar gelding made his racetrack return following a slight setback that derailed his group one New Zealand Derby (2400m) aspirations earlier inthe month.
Punters responded by installing him as a dominant favourite and were on good terms with themselves in the early stages of the contest as he received an economical trip in mid-field throughout.
In tight conditions over the concluding stages, rider Vinnie Colgan gathered his mount and under a vigorous hands and heels ride, Scott Base drove hard to get in the winning bob to deny Paulownia on the line.
So close was the finish, veteran commentator Tony Lee originally plumped for the regally-bred Paulownia as the winner, before the photo-finish camera revealed the full sister to group one winner Foxwedge had finished second to the ultra-game Scott Base.
"I was standing on the running rail and I broke 10 seconds for the 100m dash to get in and see the result as I was keen on an inquiry if he was beaten," co-trainer Johno Benner said.
"Somehow he has got his beak down and he's won it."
Despite expressing relief at gaining the judges verdict, Benner had been confident the gelding's true qualities would show through after he made the decision to target the race following his Derby defection.
