Scone trainer enjoys profitable New Year's Day double

Rubick three-year-old Evasive Nature ($1.30) broke through at his third start with an all-the-way 1.71-length win in the opening race, a 1050m maiden plate, with Ben Looker aboard.

Cavanough also had the favourite, Too Many Stars, in the second event, the 1400m super maiden. The $1.85 chance, a three-year-old All Too Hard filly, raced behind the speed before wearing down the leaders late to win by three-quarters of a length for apprentice Braith Nock.

"It's a good way to start the year with a bang," Cavanough said.

"The super maiden was a $50,000 race and the other was $35,000 and they were both BOBS, so that's a fat day at the office. Winning $50,000 in the bush, that's pretty good money."

Cavanough, who also has stables at Ballina, went to 31 winners for the NSW season and top of the country tally with 30. He was unsure of the next target for Too Many Stars but said Evasive Nature would be spelled.

"He's just immature," he said. "He's just not there mentally or physically. He's just got raw ability, but he got the job done today.

"Too Many Stars has done nothing wrong and had a fourth and a third, and now a win, so she's just a progressive type of filly."

At Canterbury, Yankee Hussel was strong to the line under a bold front-running ride from Tommy Berry to give Newcastle trainer Kris Lees a New Year's Day win.

Berry pushed the $5 chance to the lead early in the 1900m benchmark 64 handicap before pinching a break down the back straight. It proved the winning move as the American Pharoah mare kicked clear for a three-length victory.

"I left it to Tommy but we thought she'd be up on speed, that's probably the best way to ride her," Lees said. "She's always been a little aggressive, even early days we were trying to harness that aggression and she was always a bit of a handful. We were better off letting her stride and she gets into that comfortable rhythm and she looked very comfortable throughout.

"You are always concerned that last 100 metres but she was full of running."