Larry Cassidy's salesmanship played an important role in the win of Eximius in the Sunshine Coast Guineas.
When Cassidy detected an uncertain tone in Mick Price's voice on Saturday morning he knew he had to make a compelling case to convince him to start Eximius in the Guineas.
"I could sense from Mick's tone of voice that he wasn't convinced it was a good idea to run him on the heavy track," Cassidy said.
"But I told him I was happy to be drawn wide because I was certain the going would be far better well off the fence by the last race of the day."
Cassidy's confidence in Eximius ($4.80) was justified when the gelding won the Guineas by three-quarters-of-a-length from the favourite Lucky Hussler ($2.60) with Casino Card ($9) a half length away third.
"It was a really gutsy win because the second horse had a good kick but my bloke wasn't going to give in at any stage," Cassidy said.
Price's travelling foreman Pat Payet said Eximius had gained confidence on heavy tracks as he became more accustomed to them during his winter campaign.
"He's galloped on quite a few heavy tracks on the course proper at the Gold Coast and he's gained a lot of confidence from doing that," he said.