Winter chills turn Gold

Gold Salute has made it three wins on the trot, claiming the VRC-CRV Winter Championship Final (1600m) at Flemington to give seriously ill owner Kevin Heffernan something to smile about.

In the dash to the line, Gold Salute ($10-12) overran Benelli ($6) by a length on Saturday afternoon as Famous Roman ($13) continued to improve with a battling third, one-and-a-quarter lengths further back.

Gold Salute settled towards the rear of the field, but the five-year-old son of Testa Rossa maintained a wide run around his challengers before sprinting past Benelli in the final 600 metres.

Delayedreaction produced a brave fourth while Rubijon was not disgraced in fifth.

In an emotional victory speech, trainer Mark Riley paid tribute to Heffernan, who's currently being treated for a blood disorder at Melbourne's St Vincent's hospital.

"I can't really put it in words to say how much this wins for me today," Riley said on The Virtual FormGuide website.

"He's been a great supporter of me all the way through and just to be able to train this winner today, it's the best medicine he could have."

Riley was also full of praise for hoop Damien Oliver, who has gained a slender advantage in the jockeys premiership.

"I was a little worried that he'd get too far back in the race," Riley said. "(But) Damien rode it fantastic from an outsider barrier."

Riley said the victory laid the platform for a possible attack on the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) in Perth during December.