Jockey Andre ‘Encyclopedia’ Martin says his upset victory at 52-1 aboard Hombre in the 2009 Superstakes was an electrifying moment for him.

“Although the victory was expected, it was an overwhelming feeling. It was unbelievable when I crossed the winning post first in the biggest race for the year, the Superstakes,” Martin told the Complete Racing Guide.

“It felt like electricity was running through my veins, and when I was returning to the winners’ enclosure and I heard the cheering from the crowd, I got goose bumps. It felt like I was in heaven, that’s how it felt like when winning the Superstakes,” he said with obvious passion in his eyes.

“The game plan was to break him (Hombre) in front and use his natural speed to overhaul them. Leaving the seven-furlong pole, I increased the lead and hopefully he would have an uncontested lead turning for home, and from that happened, he was never to be caught,” said Martin.

He said that preparations for the Superatakes started months before the race.

“We had been preparing Hombre for the Superstakes from in February. The first time he went 1,820 metres, he won by a huge margin in a time of 1:53:0 minutes and change, and that gave us an indication of his speed and stamina. So the trainer, Noel Ennevor, started to give him some more distance races to develop his staying power and it worked in our favour,” he explained.

“It takes some blessings from God, along with that one per cent of love which makes the difference between winning and losing. Add to that mix determination, dedication, hard work, self-confidence and good team work and you have the recipe to win any race,” he said.

Martin then gave his views on this year’s event, sponsored by Burger King: “First of all, I would love to get a ride in it, but this year I think that Perfect Neighbour is the horse they all have to beat. He is on top of his game right now and will take a lot of beating. Take Perfect Neighbour out of the race, the event would be wide open.”