Brian Gath might not be involved in this year's PETstock Ballarat Pacing Cup, but the master horseman has opened up about how he plotted to bring down champion Blacks A Fake in the 2008 edition of the race.
Gath produced an aggressive but calculated drive aboard the Emma Stewart-trained entire, sitting parked outside Natalie Rasmussen's star and prevailing in a stirring two-horse duel at Bray Raceway.
The race is regarded as one of the sport's classics, with the performance of Safari to sit outside and defeat the eventual four-time Inter Dominion winner certainly one of the best in Ballarat Pacing Cup history.
"I was so proud of that horse and I knew it was a great race," Gath told Trots Talk.
"I've never been in a race that two horses fought to the line like these two did."
Gath's success in the Ballarat feature does not start and end with Safari, however.
The now 77-year-old drove wins with Doubter in 1982, No Identity in 1992 and Whale Of A Tale in 1997, and also trained Harley Hanover for son Matthew to score aboard in 1998.
“Ballarat has always been very special to me and I look forward to watching it every year if I'm not in it,” Gath said.
“It's a real special race, no doubt. It's one of the great ones.”
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN GATH BELOW: