HOMBRE, after relinquishing the lead to Derby favourite Mark My Word passing the 800-metre marker, fought back gallantly inside the final 100 metres to gain a narrow victory in a competitive $786,000 Open Allowance event, three-year-olds and upward by a short head at Caymanas Park yesterday.

Satisfactorily ridden by champion claiming apprentice Doushane Gordon, Hombre, a 2-1 bet and carrying 53.0kg, ran 1,820 metres in a time of 1:55.1 to secure his first win since winning the Superstakes last year.

It is a course which the five-year-old colt dearly loves and he confirmed this with his fifth win in his eight career wins. He, however, had to stave off a stupendous challenge mounted by Mark My Word.

Sitting on level weight with Hombre, Mark My Word threw out a strong challenge to the eventual winner and took the lead with half of the race completed.

So commanding was his run as he left the leader struggling behind the Jamaica 2,000 Guineas winner as a 5-2 betting option, looked the likely winner after turning for home with a two-length lead ridden by Dick Cardenas.

But Hombre, who truly loves this distance, was not done yet and rallied strongly against the running rails after rounding the quarter bend and gathered momentum as he closed rapidly to gain the ascendency close home for the narrow win in the field of eight.

The Guv, at odds of 5-1, who was never far off the pace and ridden by the leading claiming apprentice Aaron Chatrie, lost ground after the pace increased closed rapidly to edge Mark My Word for second money with the 9-5 favourite Heart Of Gold staying on under Wesley Henry to complete the frame a nose away.

A pleased trainer Noel Ennevor said: “At the weight I had no doubt that he would have won. He won the Superstakes carrying 57.0kg, he ran a decent second by 4 1/2 lengths to top class American-bred Cassanova Boy sitting at level eights, so I was confident that he will win.

“My only concern was that Andre Martin, who knows the horse quite well, was not around to partner him, but the apprentice did a fine job as even when he was left behind, I knew that he is in such good shape that he would have fought back.”

Bred and owned by Wessel G Burnett, Hombre –a five-year-old gelding by Pat N Jac out of Muchacha Favourita (Slick Trick) — was winning for the eighth time from 22 career starts and he earned $429,150 as the winner’s share for earnings of $6,971,850 lifetime.

Earlier, Russian Commander, bred, owned and trained by Carl Anderson and and having his second outing in three weeks, won the $715,000 Percival Martin Memorial Cup, maiden special weight feature for native-bred three-year-olds, by three lengths.

In the other trophy race on the nine-race card, nine-year-old Nasatol, ridden by claiming apprentice Chalrick Budhai, won the $462,000 CTL Claiming Series #1 – Race #5 to register his 25 win from 90 career starts.