Trainer Michael Kent has been able to peak the entire Amadeus on the right day yet again with the six-year-old scoring back-to-back wins in the $150,000 VOBIS Gold Bullion at Pakenham.
The Gold Bullion offers an $82,000 first prize as well as a $23,000 bonus for the VOBIS Gold-qualified horses, with Amadeus' prizemoney swelling to nearly $350,000 after his fourth career win.
Ridden by Craig Williams, who earlier rode Prezado to success, Amadeus ($7) shot clear at the top of the straight and just held on from the fast-finishing Mr Money Bags ($5) to win by a short head, with $21 chance Jesta Dreamer a long neck away third.
In fourth place was the again-vanquished So Si Bon, who started the $3.80 favourite and again gave backers hope when he loomed in the straight, only to fall short of victory by three-quarters of a length.
WATCH: Amadeus' win
Kent said the race appealed for a horse of Amadeus' ability.
"He's a nice 78-rated horse so to come here to run for that sort of money - which he wouldn't otherwise be in his normal grade - is great and it's only growing," Kent said.
"Everyone's getting on board with the VOBIS Gold, which is getting bigger and bigger and that's great."
Kent said he knew he had the horse right and was just hoping for luck.
"We set him for the race. He jumped out really well on Monday. He got to the front a lot earlier than I would have liked but he hung on," he said.
Williams has a history with the horse by Amadeus Wolf and he too went into the race with some confidence.
"I could see when they asked me to jump him out from the barrier on Monday in a trial how he'd actually developed from a boy into a sire," he said. "His neck has really filled out.
"Today, he drew an outside gate (barrier 11) but we were positive and confident and he really loved stretching his neck out to the wire."