WARRNAMBOOL-born apprentice jockey Teo Nugent edged closer to outriding his city claim at Mornington on Saturday.
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Nugent rode Quintello to win for his bosses Ciaron Maher and David Eustace in the 1200-metre race.
With no Melbourne metropolitan racing on Saturday, the Mornington meeting carried city status.
He has ridden 78 metropolitan wins and is only two city wins away from finishing his apprenticeship.
"It's great to get another winner for Ciaron and Dave," Nugent told The Standard.
"They have been wonderful supporters of mine since I moved from Warrnambool to start my apprenticeship with them nearly five years ago.
"It's great to repay them by riding winners for the stable. My last four rides for Ciaron and Dave have resulted in winners with the last two in town."
Nugent was rapt with Quintello's efforts.
"She jumped well from the barriers and travelled well into the race," he said.
"She put paid to her rivals pretty quickly once she got clear near the 600-metre mark."
Nugent, who has only been back riding for two weeks after spending seven weeks on the sidelines with a broken left wrist, said he was looking forward to the upcoming three-day Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.
"I've got a burning ambition to ride a Warrnambool Cup winner," he said.
"It's a race I've always wanted to win since I used to go to carnival as a schoolchild.
"It would be great if I could go back home and win the feature flat race at the carnival. It was disappointing to be out with the broken wrist but the time on the sidelines makes you hungry when you go back race riding."
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