Beware Of Thestorm beat Capturethedream by a long head, with Youbolt a head away third in the 1132-metre race.

Veteran trainer Jock McArthur said his hopes for victory with the five-year-old soared after consistent rain before the feature race at the meeting.

“I walked the track on Tuesday night and it was rated a good5 but after all the rain it got downgraded to a slow6 which really suited us,” McArthur said. 

“We gave him a six-week break from his last run and set him for this race.

“I booked Boris a fortnight ago to ride the horse in this race. 

“I knew his claim would be a big advantage. Boris rode the horse very well.”

The win took Beware Of Thestorm’s stake earnings to more than $102,000 from his 25 starts.

McArthur said Beware Of Thestorm may have his next run in the $15,000 Camperdown Cup or an open handicap at Flemington on January 18.

“I’m not sure which path we’ll go down with him,” he said. 

“Our long-term aim is a race over in Adelaide but we’ve got to get a couple of races under his belt before we think of taking him back over there, where he’s already won a couple of races.”

Beware Of Thestorm’s victory was significant for 16-year-old Thornton as the race is named after Peter Blank, a horse his great grandfather Gerry Thornton trained to win on New Year’s Day five times from 1948 to 1953.

His family sponsor the time-honoured race. 

The victory gave the apprentice his third race win.

Maasai Warrior gave McArthur his second win on the six-race program when he scored in maiden plate over 1408 metres.

Fellow Terang trainer John Barry had two winners. He was successful with Jaya’s Kiss and De Lago Storm.