Four-year-old bay gelding Volcan De Fuego($4.40), ridden by Thornton's son Damien, gave the leaders a start on the home turn in the 1700m maiden plate but was able to gradually wear down The Denis Daffy-trained Day In Court ($20) and Symon Wilde's Bean Trac ($31).

The margins were a long-neck by 1.75 lengths.

"When they came too the turn I thought he might have given them too big a start," Glenn Thornton  said.

"But he tried really hard and eventually got there. We've been holding back on the blinkers. I think he'll find another gear when we put them on.

"I think he's six to 12 months away from being a good hose and his best distance will be a mile to a mile-and-a-half," he said.

Thornton said the gelding nearly died of colic before he even went to the races.

He said Volcan De Fuego had to be taken to a Ballarat vet clinic but he recovered well.

"We thought he was a real chance today, but the wet track was a concern," he said.

Thornton was a Ecklin dairy farmer before taking up full-time training 27 years ago.

He moved to Ballarat for five years before being based near Geelong for the past 17 years.

The trainer said he had an average season after a couple of good gallopers retired, with young horses taking time to come through.

"The great thing about dairy farming was that you got a cheque every month," he said with a laugh.