It's been a tough week for Ash Gibson and his family but on Friday afternoon, the Gilgandra trainer couldn't help but smile.
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Gibson lost his mother, Eileen, last weekend and she was certainly watching over her son at the Dubbo Turf Club as Quick Floss took out the Toohey's Old Country Boosted Maiden Plate (1018m).
He left his run right until the very end to claim his first win but Quick Floss ($18) managed to bring a smile to his trainer's face.
"It was a good start to the day," he said.
"I was umming and ahhing at the end but he managed to get the job done."
The five-year-old gelding was formerly trained by Gibson's late father Allan also, making the win even more special for the family.
Jumping out of barrier five, the gelding showed great speed early to battle alongside Break Over ($8) for the lead early.
Brett Robb's Carrana Anne ($2.45) looked dangerous through the early going as Vinlago ($21) pushed through the field.
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Rounding the final bend it was a battle between Vinlago and Quick Floss with the two going neck and neck towards the line.
Jockey James Rogers managed to hit the line with Quick Floss just ahead of Vinlago, as the two were only separated by a tiny margin.
With now one career win from five starts, Gibson admitted Quick Floss is a tricky customer.
"He's sort of been knocking on the door but he is a hard horse to get a gauge on," he said.
"He doesn't do a lot of track work but when he trialled here at Dubbo it was a little bit impressive.
"He ran at Warren last week and I thought it was a pretty good run.
"He just got pipped for third and finished fourth."
Meanwhile, country trainers now have an enticing new prize pool for maiden meetings after an announcement by Racing NSW.
A Country Super Maiden will be run at one TAB meeting each week as well as every showcase meeting beginning on September 1.
The prizemoney for the meetings will be $50,000.
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