A clever change in tactics from the connections of Egodan brought about the end of Bernie Winkle's stranglehold on Mildura racing last night.

Egodan had been run down by Geoff Lucas' rejuvenated charge in all four of his starts this campaign - finishing a narrow second in three of them - but stalked the seven-year-old everywhere he went and then lunged at the finishing post to win by a short-half head on the line.

It was a thrilling encounter between the Mildura fast class horses and Bernie lost few admirers despite his 10-race streak coming to an end.

A thrilled trainer Lachlan Prothero said he had Egodan's owner Danny Zavitsanos to thank for the decision to track Bernie Winkle and have the last crack at running him down.

"It wasn't my idea. It was the owner, Danny. He thought that if we were on his back we'd be able to out-sprint him," he told SEN Track.

"We were thinking about doing it last week and the horse made the move, Caulonia Terror, and we decided we'd go in front of him.

"I said to (driver) Dwayne (Locke) that we couldn't beat him last week doing that, (so) just sit on his back and follow him everywhere and hopefully we can beat him. And it's worked out perfect."

It was a nice pay day for Egodan's connections in the $20,000 Tasco Petroleum Pace (1790m), with the 29th career win taking the horse's earnings over $330,000.

The son of Sportswriter was sent to Prothero by Zavitsanos after he had won close to $300,000 for an assortment of trainers, including Vince Vallelonga, Kevin Pizzuto and Emma Stewart. Now, he's making his mark on the Mildura region, with five of those triumphs coming while in Prothero's Birdwoodton stable.

"It was a bit of a shock, even a shock to me, that we did get the bob, even though he's so honest. He just knows where the line is," the young trainer said. "It was a bit of a shock to everyone that Bernie has actually been beaten."

Bernie Winkle's defeat was his first since being sent from Glenn Douglas' stables to Lucas' yard in April this year.

Racing returns to Mildura next Friday night.

REWATCH AS EGODAN TAILS BERNIE WINKLE AND CATCHES HIM ON THE LINE: