Cass 'N' Black, ridden by Chris O'Brien, stuck his head out near the line to beat the Victorian-trained Exflytations (Andrew Gibbons), which tried to lead all the way and was brave in defeat, beaten a long head.

"There is a 2400m race at Randwick and a race like that at this time of the year will suit him," co-trainer Phillippe Vigouroux said.

"This win has been coming for a while.

"He ran second at Canberra and was placed twice at Newcastle against fair horses so we thought this was his chance."

O'Brien said it had been a tough win.

"Gee, he's a big horse and he just kept fighting and fighting to get past the other horse," he added.

***

FAVOURITE backers were left reeling after the first two races when the odds-on shot Margie Bee struggled into fourth place in the Allweld Services Three-Year-Old Maiden (1000m).

The race was won by the Allan Denham-trained $9 chance Soori (Greg Ryan), which then had to survive a protest from Grant Buckley who rode the $1.30 favourite.

However, after a short hearing the objection was dismissed.

Ryan described Soori as "a funny little thing".

"She still has a lot to learn," he said.

"I was on one rein all the way down the straight and she kept looking over her shoulder for other horses.

"Perhaps by next preparation she might have learned a bit more."

The pain for punters continued in the following race when the first-starter, Game Of Thorns, came from last to dive on the line and win the Two Rivers Wines Maiden (1280m).

The Bjorn Baker-trained Encumbrance (Greg Ryan) was heavily-backed into $2.70 favourite and looked to have the race safely in her keeping half-way down the straight.

Game Of Thorns, trained by Kris Lees, was back last early and struggling to keep up but at the top of the straight Darryl McLellan took the daughter of Animal Kingdom to the centre of the track.

She stormed home under hard riding and, despite wanting to run around, dived on the line to beat the favourite by a nose in class record time.

"She was running around and did not have much idea of what she was doing," McLellan said.

"I was going to switch her to the inside once we straightened but considering the way she was racing I thought it was safer to take her to the outside."

***

THE fortunes of punters improved in the third race when the Paul Perry-trained Dodecanese (Mikayla Weir), backed in from $8 to start the $3.30 second favourite, stormed home from well back to win the Allweld Services Maiden (1280m), also in class record time.

Later in the day the Perry stable had another well-backed winner when The Outcast firmed from $18 to $8 and raced away to win the Bhima Thoroughbreds Benchmark 58 (1500m) to give Mikayla Weir a double.

He, too, ran a class record.

Dodecanese, a two-year-old, was giving away age to the remainder of the field but stormed home wide out to win by one and a half lengths in 1:15.60 to take more than a second off the previous best.

He beat the $3 favourite Monterey Lad, which had been easy in betting, with the Luke Thomas-trained Manno ($41) a further short half head away third.

Foreman Nathan Perry said the stable had an opinion of Dodecanese despite his disappointing 11th at Warwick Farm at his previous start.

"We put blinkers on him at Warwick Farm and it did not work so we took them off again for this race," he explained.

"We have always had an opinion of this colt but he has been immature and it was certainly the right decision by dad to take the blinkers off."

Weir settled Dodecanese well back off a strong speed, went to the outside in the straight and stormed home to easily account for the favourite which was resuming.

The Outcast was bred by Nathan Perry's wife Christy and this was only his second win from 28 starts.

"We decided to change the way we have been riding him," Perry said.

"Previously we have been letting him get too far back and he kept getting into trouble.

"Today we decide to ride him closer and it worked."

Weir settled him just off the speed then went wide on the turn and exploded away to win by three and a quarter lengths from Bellum ($2.35 fav) in class record time.

***

JEREMY Gask went back to basics with Weather Chanel and it worked a treat with the five- year-old winning the HIC Services Benchmark 58 (1280m).

Weather Chanel was having his third start for Gask after being switched to him from South Australian trainer John Macmillan.

Gask removed the blinkers, tongue control bit and cross over nose band and instead fitted a lugging bit.

"At his first start for me at Newcastle he ran a really good third and his sectionals were good," he said.

"Then I started him at the Scone carnival and I probably out-smarted myself.

"He did a lot wrong in that race so I decided to take most of the gear off him and it worked."

Serg Lisnyy settled Weather Channel ($4.60) in fifth place early trailing the favourite Trophies Galore.

In the straight Trophies Galore hit the lead but Weather Chanel, the widest runner, over-took her and raced away near the line.

***

THE racing surface at Muswellbrook has never been better and three class records were set at the meeting.

The Kris Lees-trained Game Of Thorns set a new mark in the Two Rivers Wines Maiden (1280m) for fillies and mares, running 1:16.36.

In the following race the Paul Perry-trained two-year-old Dodecanese smashed the previous best when the colt won the Allweld Maiden (1280m) for colts and geldings producing 1:15.60.

That took more than one second off the previous record.

Later another Perry-trained galloper The Outcast ran 1:29.28 to set a new class record in winning the Bhima Thoroughbreds Benchmark 58 (1500m).