It was a trip worth taking for Luke Cartwright, who celebrated his first Saturday metro wins with a double at Bendigo’s Golden Mile Raceday.

The apprentice hoop from Mornington tasted feature success after steering outsider Heavenly Eagle to victory early in the day and later delivering again aboard Manolo Bling in race five.

Golden Mile Raceday was granted metropolitan status as Victoria’s key weekend meeting, and Cartwright made the most of the opportunity, bouncing back from some recent near misses in Melbourne city rides.

His first winner, Heavenly Eagle, only made the field due to scratchings, with Cartwright getting the ride after Otago came out. Then, after being removed from Reserve Bank on the morning of the race, he ended up on Manolo Bling in place of Tom Prebble.

“Savoire Faire in the Yarra Valley Cup nearly got it done and so did Red Phantom last Saturday but today, the first one (Heavenly Eagle), I knew he went well but it was a bit of surprise,” he said.

“I knew this one (Manolo Bling) was definitely my best ride and with 51 (kilos), if I could skip away I knew she’d be hard to beat.

“I’m rapt, I’ve gone from not riding a city winner to riding two on Golden Mile Day.”

Cartwright’s comeback only began last month following a serious fall last year that sidelined him for over three months with neck and spine injuries.

Manolo Bling, trained by the Freedman stable, took her record to three wins from eight with a front-running win as the $2.90 elect.

Heavenly Eagle, trained by Stephen Brown, also delivered for punters after firming from $51 into $26 with popular betting sites, closing strongly to reel in Waimarie.