Willis was one of the South Island’s notable improvers last season, winning in Rating 65 and Rating 75 grade before finishing third in the $200,000 Southern Mile Final (1600m) at Wingatui and second in the inaugural $350,000 Southern Alps Challenge (1600m) at Riccarton.

The Vadamos gelding went into Saturday’s race on the back of a third placing in the Winton Cup over the same course and distance on November 24, where he was fractious in the gates, very slow to jump and dropped out to be a distant last. He made up an impressive amount of ground in the straight to end up only two and three-quarter lengths from the winner.

That performance saw Willis step out as one of the favourites on Saturday at $3.40, and he produced another top-drawer performance.

Drawn gate seven in a field of eight, Willis and jockey Tina Comignaghi found themselves caught out wide in the early stages of the $50,000 feature. Comignaghi had no choice but to push forward, surging around the outside of the field to move up alongside the front-running The Radiant One.

That pair kicked away from the rest of the field at the home turn and then had the finish all to themselves. They fought out a head-bobbing duel through the final 200m, with The Radiant One refusing to surrender, but Willis slowly but surely gained a narrow advantage and prevailed by a head. The Radiant One finished two and a half lengths ahead of the third-placed Inflamed.

Willis was a $1600 purchase from Gavelhouse.com in May of 2020. He has now had 19 starts for four wins, six placings and $170,780 in stakes. The six-year-old is trained by Barry Howden, who shares ownership with a number of family members.

“I’m pretty pleased with that,” Howden said. “He brought himself undone last time, so it’s good to see him turn it around today. He didn’t have an easy time of it either, being caught wide and having to push forward. I think he’s better when he gets up over a mile too, so it’s very pleasing.

“He placed in a couple of those big races last autumn and has a fair bit of ability. I’m not sure where we’ll go with him this time in, so I’ll talk to Tina and see what she thinks. But one possible target might be the Timaru Cup (1600m).”

The $80,000 Timaru Cup will be run at Phar Lap Raceway on December 28.

Willis headlined a strong start to the locals on Saturday’s Invercargill card. The previous race was won by Stygian for Ascot Park owner-trainer Kalai Selvan.

“It’s been a pretty good day for us locals,” Howden said. “I’m very pleased for Kalai that he got that win. His father died a few days ago, so that will mean a bit to him.”

Fellow Ascot Park trainer Robert Dennis won the first two races of the day with Medina and On Song.