A clever front running ride by Hugh Bowman on Mourinho won the Drummond Golf Handicap at Moonee Valley this afternoon.

Peter & Manni GelagotisExpertly rated mid-race, Bowman did not move on his mount until favourite Midnight Martini loomed into view at the top of the straight. Even then he kept his powder dry, only working hard on Mourinho in the concluding stages to deny victory by the Mark Kavanagh trained mare by a long neck.

Third a length away was Destiny's Kiss.

“He got into a nice rhythm for me in front and we weren’t going too slow or too quick and I was always in a dictating position”, Bowman said.

Winning trainer Peter Gelagotis put Bowman on Mourinho at his last start at Caulfield where he ran second behind Sertorius on Thousand Guineas day.

“My first ride for him was on this horse and he gave me a lot of confidence about the horse and I took that into today.”

“The step up in distance was in his favour and I thought it was a winnable race on form.”

“Obviously Kavanagh’s horse won the Cranbourne Cup in style so she was a query but when she came to me I was never too worried.”

“My bloke has a tendency to want to lay out in the straight but I was able to keep him straight and win the race.”

The win by Mourinho capped an 18 month project by Gelagotis to rehabilitate him after straining a tendon in the Port Adelaide Guineas in April 2011.

For Gelagotis, whose father's funeral was yesterday, today's win was the second feature race for the stable in a week after Hvasstan won the Group 3 Norman Robinson Stakes at Caulfield.

“The old man’s spirit is shining on us."

"I’ve had moments in my career where I thought ‘wow, this is fantastic’ but to win two races on each day (Caulfield Cup Day and Cox Plate Day) is a dream come true.”

Gelagotis took a lot of confidence from Mourinho's second at Caulfield.

“Whoever wanted to listen to me, I’ve given this horse such a big wrap and it was great to have him back”, he said.

“He disappointed his first two runs when he wanted to run off the track but Hughey (Bowman) sorted him out for us last start and I thought it was a sensational run last start. His last 50m – 100m was sensational.”

Future plans will depend on how Mourinho's leg stands up to race day pressure but Gelagotis is hoping that today's win will give him confidence.

“He is a bit of a timid horse, lightly raced and very new still and in his first two run (this campaign) he copped a coup of bumps and was a bit timid with it all but now he’s got his head around it again he is going somewhere.”