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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Gary Colvin has his sights set on more Country Championships history at Randwick in April after local hero Another One on Saturday became the first horse to win a regional feature twice with a gutsy victory at Wagga.

Wagga trainer Gary Colvin.

The four-year-old will now attempt to be the first runner-up to return a year later and win the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final and Colvin said a heady ride from jockey Nick Heywood ensured he will get the chance on April 2.

Heywood fired Another One out of the gates and he settled third before looming alongside leader Gusonic on the turn then went for home 400m out, opening a big three length lead and holding off the fast finishing Tap ‘N’ Run by half a length.

“I didn’t want to get too far back. I said jump him out and see where you land,’’ Colvin said.

“He just went bang and got into a lovely position. He had a lot of horse underneath and let him loose early because the way the track was playing.

“It’s a real relief. Everyone was saying ‘he should win, he should win’ but I kept saying he’s still got to win.”

After he didn’t attract a Kosciuszko berth in the spring, Colvin did some experimenting with Another One’s distance limits before setting his sights on being the first in NSW to defend their crown.

Heywood had an air of confidence about Another One following a strong piece of work the previous weekend and said the gelding showed he can be versatile, which will be important for the task ahead.

He was also keen to avoid a repeat of what happened a year ago when Another One was stuck wide and had to rally and reel in his rivals in the last stride.

“He can win from anywhere but it worked out that he pinged the lids good and I quickly got over because I didn’t want to get caught deep like last year,’’ Heywood said.

“He was a complete horse today, he’s always been up and down and out the back floating along but today he was on the bunny, it was game on. I was pretty confident once I got there.

“When he let rip I know how good his sectionals can be and he was never going to be beaten.”

Another One moved to the second line of TAB netting on the Country Championships Final at $6.50 while Tap ‘N’ Run is on the $8 line. Northern Rivers winner Far Too Easy remains $4.50 favourite.

Colvin said he’s likely to follow a similar pattern to the Final that he walked last year and just keep Another One fresh and give him a trial, especially now and he’s a year older and a stronger horse.

He’s also confident there’s still improvement left for Day 1 of The Star Championships.

“I was quietly confident, we set him for that race and now we can sit back and relax and poke along for Randwick,’’ Colvin said.

“He’s a bigger and better horse, he doesn’t carry weight and that’s why I’m not worried about running him again.

“He’s an easy horse to train, touch wood we haven’t had any major trouble with him and he have to tick him over.”

Several horses have qualified for the Final more than once, including Bennelong Dancer who finished in the top two in the $150,000 Newhaven Park Southern Districts Country Championships (1400m) in three successive years.

Another One wins his second Southern Districts Country Championships

It’s normally disappointing to run second, especially in a big race, but in the case of the Country Championships it’s like a win and Tap ‘N’ Run’s trainer Ron Stubbs said he’s rapt to progress to the Final.

The gelding produced the race's fastest last 600m, clocking 33.85 (Punter's Intelligence), after just taking a while to wind up when the sprint went on.

Tap ‘N’ Run’s jockey Jack Martin said Randwick will suit the lightly raced four-year-old and rates him a genuine chance, especially if he can come up with a favourable draw not too close to the fence.

“He takes 50 yards to get into stride which he did up the straight today but his last 250m was exceptional,’’ Martin said.

“I had a pretty good run, got out nicely and got into clear air with no trouble. Another 50 yards I think he would have made it interesting.”

All the results and replays from Saturday’s Country Championships meeting at Wagga