Hamblin, a 48-year-old battler, scored the biggest win of his career in yesterday’s $100,000 Sovereign Resort Galleywood Hurdle (3200m) when he lifted former Sydney Cup winner Stand To Gain to victory.

He won his second ever jumps ride, a maiden hurdle on Top Kala at Warrnambool’s carnival in 2003, and despite having participated at all but one carnival in the past 12 years, yesterday’s triumph was his first since then.

He has filled the minor placings many times, but his second on Poker Face in the 2007 Grand Annual Steeplechase was his best result in one of the three majors at the ’Bool.

Asked what it meant to finally break through, Hamblin said: “It means you hang around the game a bit longer and people put you on horses more.”

“Unless you win the big ones they don’t take notice.”

Hamblin, who has a victory in ridden trots several years ago at Shepparton, started his career as a jockey on the flat in his native Queensland.

But he gave it away for a handful of years when weight became an issue. 

He rode track work for New Zealander John Wheeler when he took his horses to Queensland in the winter.

“He was at me to ride jumps,” the Berwick-based hoop said.

“I should have went to NZ with him years ago. Colin Alderson said he would ring up Eric Musgrove. He got me going.”

Hamblin was convinced he was going to be pipped again yesterday.

“At the last jump I thought I would run second. It’s good to get up and win,” he said.

Stand To Gain’s win provided former Kiwi jockey Bob Challis with his first major triumph as a trainer at the carnival. Challis, who had ridden in the Galleywood, was home at Bolinda, near Kyneton.

His partner Liz Irwin had tears welling in her eyes as she talked about the victory.

While Challis is the trainer, he is usually too busy with his clerk of course duties and leaves the preparations to her.

“I love riding the horses,” she said.

The win was a victory for the battlers.

“We always seem to be the underdog because we only have one or two. It’s a huge thrill,” she said.

Irwin said it was the stable’s biggest win and, like Hamblin, she was far from confident it would happen.

“He doesn’t normally show a huge amount of fight but today he did,” she said.

After setting the pace, which at one stage had him six lengths clear of the pack, Stand To Gain was headed going to the last of 11 hurdles by the Tony Rosolini-trained Zuhayr. Zuhayr looked headed for victory, skipping two lengths clear, but at the 200m mark Stand To Gain surged back to take the lead before holding off a late charge, taking the win by a head. The $15-chance Back In Black was 4½ lengths away third.

The closing stages were full of drama. The $2.80-favourite Fieldmaster with Warrnambool’s Brad McLean on board fell at the fourth-last hurdle while running second. Then at the next jump, another fancied runner, the $5.50-hope Beer Garden also came down. 

Both jockeys and horses were not injured. Second-favourite Urban Explorer, from the Eric Musgrove stable, was fourth, having never worked into the race.