Veteran pacer Robbiewillmakeit in career-best

The entire, trained by Robyn's husband, Neville, ran his fastest winning time – a 1:53:6 mile – to come from second last and claim a four-metre victory at Menangle on Saturday night with Jack Callaghan in the seat.

The $5720 first prize was his biggest in 20 wins across 149 career starts and came after the Greenwoods reluctantly took him back to Menangle after being unable to gain a start at Newcastle. Robbiewillmakeit had four trials and swim training in between runs as the Greenwoods weighed up their options.

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"I can't get any runs here and someone said to me I would never get another run at Newcastle because he was too highly graded," Robyn said. "He's still racing all right and the only place I could go to is Menangle, but I said I didn't want to go to Menangle. But this last week I just bit the bullet.

Robyn said they kept Robbiewillmakeit an entire after he came in for special attention as a foal when he almost drowned.

"He was the first foal out of my mare [Willshemakeit] and he fell into the dam and I saved him," she said. "Because we handled him, he was always all right. Normally we'd geld them straight away but we left him because he was so good. Maybe if we had he wouldn't have been as good as he is now."

She said Robbiewillmakeit had been a handful in recent years at the races.

"Everyone can't work out how long he's lasted as a stallion," she said.

"In the breeding season we've been having trouble at the races, he's just played up so bad. But up until five or six he was good as gold."

Half-brother Noworries, also out of Willshemakeit, won his first race at Newcastle on November 6 as a $71 shot for the Greenwoods.

At Newcastle on Friday night, visiting driver Josh Gallagher was the standout performer with a winning treble.

Gallagher won on Pay Me Overs (trainer KerryAnn Morris), Spunkys Playing Up (Darren Reay) and Dream The Dream (Kevin Pizzuto).

Graig Kerry

Reprinted with permission of The Newcastle Herald