Grangewilliam Stud’s stallion The Bold One recorded his first stakes winner when Bold Mac took a well-deserved tenacious victory in the Listed Rowley Mile (1600m) on Thursday at Hawkesbury.

The Chris Waller-trained six-year-old had been in a purple patch of form coming into the race with two consecutive wins, alongside a narrow defeat to Zoumon in the Listed W J McKell Cup (2000m) earlier in his preparation.

After the race was delayed due to a cow entering the Hawkesbury course, Bold Mac fought hard in the home straight under Melbourne Cup-winning hoop Kerrin McEvoy to narrowly edge race-favourite Protagonist by a nose in a thrilling finish.

“It’s a bit hard to tell out there when you’re wide out, I always get these photos wrong, especially here, so I’m never too confident,” McEvoy told Sky Thoroughbred Central.

“I could hear Bowman (Hugh Bowman, jockey of Protagonist) coming up my inside, but my fella showed a good bit of tenacity the last furlong and was able to get his head in front.”

Fresh from the tight tussle to the post, Bold Mac shied and deposited McEvoy onto the track when returning to scale, fortunately both were not injured.

“He was bowling back really freely and he just spotted someone on the inside rail and darted out from underneath me,” McEvoy said.

“So, lucky we got the win.”

Bold Mac’s victory gave expat-Kiwi Waller a sensational fifth win in the last eight editions of the Rowley Mile, and the gelding’s fifth win under Waller’s care.

“Delighted for Kerrin and delighted for the owners, they’ve been pretty patient with him but they’re reaping the rewards now,” Waller’s Assistant Trainer Charlie Duckworth told Sky Thoroughbred Central.

“He’s a rock-solid horse and a bit of a legend to have around the stable.”

The Kiwi-bred gelding was bred by Bernie Gudsell, who races Bold Mac alongside extended family members and his initial trainer Colin Cromarty, whom he won three races under before the move across the Tasman.

The Bold One is a beautifully-bred son of Fastnet Rock, out of dual-Group One winning mare The Jewel and stands at the successful Waitotara farm run by Mark Corcoran.

Bold Mac’s stakes victory comes in light of the stud’s decision to offer The Bold One, alongside fellow resident stallions Zed and Derryn at a $4000+GST service fee for the month of August, aiming to ease financial pressures for breeders.