Celebrated bush jockey Robert Thompson said it would take "a lot of country maidens" to match the prizemoney he earned from winning the $200,000 Highway Anniversary on the Rodney Northam-trained After All That.
Thompson snared a rails run on After All That to win the inaugural running of the 1400m Benchmark 80 event for country-trained gallopers at Randwick on Saturday.
Despite finishing within 3-1/2 lengths of Everest contender Redzel in the Group II The Shorts (1200m) last month, After All That was friendless in betting, drifting from $7.50 to $12.
The bookies' elect, Melanie O'Gorman's Suncraze ($2.70), made the finish interesting with a swamping run down the outside but missed narrowly in a photo finish. The Nick Olive-trained Bring A Secret ($21) was 1-1/4 lengths away in third.
Thompson, who recently passed 4300 career winners, likened the Highway Anniversary concept to the country version of The Everest.
"For us country battlers it's like winning The Everest," Thompson said.
"I was very happy in the run, the horse felt great all the way and every time I asked him to lengthen he tried his hardest.
"Rod had set him for this race a long time ago so he's done a marvelous job."
Thompson and Northam have proven a formidable team over the years with close to 200 wins together, including six feature race scalps since 2014.
