Awapuni trainers Peter and Trent Didham have had a great run with Subtle Image, which culminated in taking out the $75,000 TAB Polytrack Championship (2000m) at Cambridge on Friday.

Despite his pleasing run of form, which included winning his two previous outings, the seven-year-old gelding was unwanted by punters and drifted out to a $26.80 outsider.

Slowest away, Subtle Image settled at the rear of the field for stable apprentice Toni Davies, and the pair stalked their rivals for much of the journey.

Subtle Image was the widest runner turning for home and had plenty of work ahead of him, but the son of Nadeem dug deep and began to make solid inroads. He hit the lead in the final 50m and he went on to score by a length over Skymax.

Trent Didham admitted to being concerned shortly after the jump, but he was pleased to see the way his gelding powered home to get the winning result.

“He has been flying the gates so when he popped out the back I thought ‘we might be in a bit of trouble here’,” he said. “But he cruised around and he was too good.

“You have got to target these races, he is a horse that loves the poly and he won well today.”

Subtle Image has been on loan to the stable from Opaki trainer Roger Allen since April while he recovers from shoulder surgery, and the gelding has thrived on the other side of the ranges, winning four and placing in three of his eight starts for the Didhams.

“He will probably go back to Roger Allen’s now,” Didham said. “Roger sent him over because he had shoulder surgery, so we were just looking after him. He sent him over in great condition and we haven’t done anything differently with him, we just kept ticking him over.”

Meanwhile, Didham said Group Three winner War Princess and Group Two winner Omega Boy are making pleasing progress ahead of their spring preparations.

“War Princess had a jumpout last Wednesday and she will go to the trials on the 18^th and then we will make more of a plan from there,” he said. “She has strengthened up and really turned into a mare now and she is pretty exciting.

“Omega Boy has come back in and he is bigger and stronger as well, and he is getting ready for a jumpout.”