Michael Hewitt "naively thought" he could be a trainer but he "didn't want to believe" when Sassaby kicked clear inside the 200m at Rosehill on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The only horse the man from Denman had in, who grew up in the studs of the Hunter, raced away to win the Highway Handicap and Hewitt joined Chris Waller, John O'Shea and Bjorn Baker as a winning trainer for the afternoon at Rosehill.
"I have ridden stock horses all my life and have broken in a few for Arrowfield and Kitchwin," Hewitt said.
"I kind of naively thought I could train and had a couple of horses but nothing like this.
"It is good to see our farm's brand win there, he was born and raised at our place and I have had him since day he arrived and just done what I thought was right."
Sassaby was sent out at $41 and returned more than $60 on the tote, but those were much smaller odds compared with Hewitt thinking he could be a city winning trainer a couple of months ago.
When Sassaby sprinted to the front at 300m mark and put a gap in his rival, Hewitt was in shock. On the line the margin was still three-quarters of a length to favourite Galaxy Warrior and Caribbean Concert another half length back in third.
"You can see it happening but you don't want to believe it," Hewitt said.
