Thomas Huet didn't want to be where he was, but connections had seen him do it before and the wide passage the Frenchman traversed with Surfin' Safari didn't matter as Paul Perry's tough-as-teak juvenile joined esteemed company at Rosehill.
The Starspangledbanner baby joined unbeaten Golden Slipper hero Vancouver as the most prolific two-year-old this season, racking up his fourth win after an arrogant ride from Huet on Saturday.
"He's enjoying his racing and we were just saying there's not many jockeys that can sit three deep and still have horses that find – Jim Cassidy is a freak at it – but Thomas Huet does it consistently," Perry's son Shannon said. "You do have confidence knowing you've seen him do it before."
But maybe the confidence wasn't quite replicated by the man in the saddle.
Huet, who is edging ever closer to a season-long goal of 60 winners as he establishes a footing in the Sydney riding market, was trapped deep after Surfin' Safari launched from the gates but couldn't cross Let's Make It Rain and Hail The Chief in the early stages.
It didn't seem to matter though as Huet let Surfin' Safari stride to sit outside the leaders and quickly pounced on the lead, thwarting a challenge from betting-ring drifter Vanbrugh ($3.50 out to $5) to win by a half neck.
"I wasn't really happy to travel three wide as it's never easy so I just had to relax him a little," Huet said. "I'm very happy what he did because he picked up at the top of the straight and when Blake Shinn came he picked up again. He won fairly easily in the end. It's good for the future. He's a lovely horse and what he did at Warwick Farm was good, but what he did today was probably better."
In an era of blink-and-you-miss-it two-year-old preparations, the Perrys seem content to forge on with Surfin' Safari for now. Saturday's win was his fifth start this campaign and the wet winter tracks means more could be in store.
"You buy them to race," Shannon Perry said. "They've got a mother they represent and if they do that it helps her next crop.
"He's just a nice racing type. And his asset right now is he loves the mud. From day one we knew he could run and we've got a pretty good record on Cox Plate day in that three-year-old race. He's the kind of horse that [could go there]."
There were little excuses for the beaten brigade as Vanbrugh had the perfect trail behind Surfin' Safari as Godolphin's Stalwart ran on to finish one-and-a-half lengths further back in third.
"The winner was just a bit fitter and my horse will take good improvement," Shinn said of Vanbrugh.
