It had to happen, and on Saturday it did. Six-year-old chestnut gelding Crucial Appeal crippled rivals in deep stretch to win an Overnight Allowance event, his first win in over a year.

It was in April of last year that Crucial Appeal last won, but since then he has endured setbacks which forced him out of competitive racing from July 2015. He was trained then by Patrick Lynch.

The far-striding gelding, owned by Hamark Farms, returned to competitive racing in May of this year guided by trainer Dwight Chen, and had four runs prior to Saturday’s race. He finished second on three occasions and was unplaced in the other.

Racing over 1,000 metres round with Shane Ellis in the saddle on Saturday last, Crucial Appeal flew from the number two post, setting a fast pace with splits of 22.4 and 46.0 seconds. When Talented Tony K made his challenge approaching the home bend, the offspring of Crucial Trail – Late Appeal hit another gear and powered home to score by three-and-three quarter lengths.Berranca (Dane Dawkins) ran on for second position ahead of Talented Tony K (Ameth Robles).

The final time of 58.3 seconds confirmed that Crucial Appeal is on the move again – a rejuvenated horse with the Caribbean Sprint Championship just around the corner.

“The performance was excellent. I expected nothing less from him (Crucial Appeal) today (Saturday).

“In the morning before the race, I told the groom that Crucial Appeal was going to run 58.0 seconds for the distance, and he did exactly that – 58.3 seconds. He was going guns blazing in the mornings, and he came out and proved [his worth] in the afternoon.

“ Talented Tony K was in hot pursuit approaching the half-mile, but I had to get ahold of my horse and had him (Talented Tony K) on my hindquarters.

“When I pulled the go button, Crucial Appeal just took off, and I had nothing else to do.

“He will run in the Caribbean Sprint Championship and he is that type of horse, so anything is possible,” Ellis told the

Complete Racing Guide.