Punch Lane has proven his resilience by racing on three consecutive Saturdays and maintaining peak form, backing up a commanding Randwick win with another strong performance in the Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m).

Handling the heavy 8 conditions with ease, the $2.30 favourite led from the outset under Nash Rawiller and never relinquished his advantage, defeating Osipenko ($9) by 1-1/4 lengths, with My Oberon ($14) finishing third.

Rawiller, who has guided the gelding in his past two starts, praised both the horse and the stable for an exceptional campaign.

“He is tough as nails, the horse,” Rawiller said.

“It has been a great training effort, three weeks in a row, not many can do that. He has come here today and was first out of the gates and first into the bridle.

“You’d expect him to be half not wanting to be here but he was better than last time.

“He gave me a better ride going around to the gates today and probably during the race.”

After a fourth-place finish behind Sandpaper on April 19, Punch Lane bounced back at Randwick with a dominant four-length win over 1500m on April 26. With similar wet conditions forecast at Hawkesbury, the Freedman team rolled the dice again—and were rewarded.

Sydney foreman Shane Hourigan said the gelding thrives on the routine and workload.

“This is his third time backing up, three weeks in a row, and he seemed to be better this time even again,” Hourigan said.

“It wasn’t an afterthought and he is probably the right horse to do it with. He just does his work, eats, pulls out in the morning and goes again.”

As a qualifying race for the Big Dance, Punch Lane is now on track for a potential appearance in the lucrative November event.