Sly Boots, prepared by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, had taken the lead in the ATC Thank You Stable Staff Handicap (1800m), but Perfect Justice launched a powerful surge down the centre of the renowned Randwick straight.

Bott confessed that he harboured fears as Perfect Justice closed in on Sly Boots.

“I thought that the other horse (Perfect Justice) was going to go straight past us,” Bott said. “But to Sly Boots’ credit he really dug deep and found a way to win. He’s been up a while but has been racing very consistently without winning so he deserved to win this today.”

Sly Boots ($4.80), under an astute ride from Rachel King, held off a determined Perfect Justice ($4.20) by a half-neck. The favourite, Trapalanda ($3.50), was a further three-quarters of a length away in third.

King also experienced a moment of doubt as Perfect Justice came to challenge Sly Boots.

“But Sly Boots saw him coming and he raised another effort,” King said. “I think the drier track helped and he really wanted to win today.”

Bott was undecided on the immediate future for Sly Boots, whose record now shows five wins and seven placings from 27 starts, pushing his career earnings past the $400,000 mark.

“We might look at a similar type of race in the next couple of weeks,” Bott said.

John Sargent’s Perfect Justice continued his solid winter form, but this was his third second placing across his last four starts. His solitary victory in that period was a Midway event over 1600m where he narrowly defeated The Mona Lisa.

It is difficult to assign blame for Perfect Justice’s defeat, though the gelding was compelled to race wide on the turn and sustain a lengthy run. Conversely, the winner saved ground by angling back towards the inside, a tactical advantage that likely made the difference given the razor-thin margin between the two horses.

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