Hair of the Dog made it 3 wins and 1 placing from 4 starts when he jumped and led throughout in a 3yo Country Plate event over 1206m at Grafton on Thursday.

Ideally placed in this event, back against his own age and under the set weights and penalties conditions, Hair of the Dog (by Tale Of The Cat) was still asked to lump 59.0 kgs and spot weight to his rival placegetters Skipper 55.5kgs and My Boy Louie 55.5kgs.

A natural front runner, Hot Dog as he is affectionately known by connections was perfectly rated in front by leading Northern Rivers rider Stephen Tracey.

After an even dispatch, Hot Dog rolled forward after 150m and then controlled the speed. Swinging for home he was pressured by his rivals however Stephen knew he had plenty of horse under saddle and bided his time as the challengers approached. 

As the runner-up came close to eyeballing our horse, Stephen shook the reigns at Hot Dog and he responded despite having done all the work under the big weight. He found three-quarters of a length and then was allowed to cruise to hold off the gallant runner- up. 

Again the race was run at a fast pace off the front and Hot Dog recorded 1:10.14 for the 1206m event coming home in 34.41 which proved to be mathematically too hard for those chasing to bridge the gap.