Jason Collett enjoyed a superb afternoon at Randwick, capping a three-win haul by guiding Headley Grange to a determined victory in the Civic Stakes (1400m).

Returning from a stint riding in Queensland, Collett quickly got into the winner’s circle. He piloted Callistemon to victory in the Midway Handicap (1600m), partnered Lulumon in the Asahi Super Dry Handicap (1000m), and saved the best for last in the feature race aboard Headley Grange.

“He’s a nice horse,” Collett said post-race.

“The tempo of that race was different to last start. It was genuinely run. He has quickened off it and then he’s had to tough it out.

“He just found another gear. When they came to him at the 150 (metres) he went again so that’s a really good sign.”

Trained by Joe Pride, Headley Grange now boasts eight wins from 18 career starts and has shown he belongs in black-type company. Pride confirmed the $3 million Big Dance (1600m) on Melbourne Cup Day is firmly on the radar.

“Nice to see him step up to that higher grade today,” Pride said.

“That’s never easy to do in a high-pressure race with plenty of opposition.

“He’s come back particularly well this preparation and we will go to the South Grafton Cup next. We will try and qualify him for one of the ‘Dances’.”

One of the challenges with Headley Grange has been managing his pre-race nerves. To keep him calm, stewards allowed Collett to mount later than usual, which worked in his favour.

“That’s what was needed and it worked. He stayed relaxed,” Collett said.

The gelding settled midfield before peeling out in the straight, showing strong acceleration to defeat Welwal ($26) and outsider Astero ($51) by clear margins.

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