Race veteran Vista Weird broke his group 1 drought at attempt number four and career start number 71, rounding up race favourite Gemma Keeping in the final strides of the $150,000 Sportsbet Hume Cup final on Saturday night.

The former Thomas Dailly-trained greyhound, now under the stewardship of Andrea Dailly’s daughter Korie-Lee Heinrich, has knocked on the door of the top level for 12 months, running fourth in last year’s Silver Chief final and second in the Rookie Rebel back in February to Miss Envy.

But Saturday night’s victory in a thrilling edition of the 600-metre Hume Cup at The Meadows provided the crowning moment of his career to date, and given it was the first night of the Dream Chaser’s Festival, who’s to say there’s not more to come for the son of Hooked On Scotch.

He got out of the boxes well enough to sit behind the speed, and despite pushing wide on the first turn and again around the catching pen the first time, he weaved his way through, closed around the final turn and grasped the lead from Gemma Keeping just shy of the post.

“Once he gets held out wide and it’s a race like this, I didn’t think he’d get there. But he did what he did last week, he just pushed through them and burst through them like a beast,” Heinrich said.

“He’s a genuine superstar.”

Heinrich, 31, said mum Andrea and husband Tom – now retired – would certainly be watching from home, having played a major role in Vista Weird’s journey.

Tom’s twin brother, George Dailly, owns and bred Vista Weird, who took his career earnings beyond $300,000 with the $100,000 top prize.

“Mum, Tom and George are three of the hardest working people I’ve met in my entire life,” Heinrich said.

“I’ve always said, instead of passing me down generational wealth, they’ve passed me great work ethic and I’m glad they have because it makes it well worth it.”

It was a great 30-minute window for Heinrich, with Maturity Classic winner Indy Melman claiming a stunning win in the prior race.

The Dream Chaser’s Festival is set to provide numerous opportunities for both runners going forward, with Indy Melman’s win in a slick 29.70 set to put him into conversations for a Phoenix slot.

A decision needs to be made for Vista Weird, meanwhile – drop back to the sprint trip and have a crack at a Melbourne Cup heat, or step up beyond 700 metres for the first time in pursuit of a Bold Trease.