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Country jockey Ben Looker didn’t let the opportunity slip when he landed his biggest career win aboard the in-form Coffs Harbour mare Sofin in the $100,000 Port Macquarie Cup last Friday.

Looker and Sofin’s trainer Shannon Fry took on the might of the Gai Waterhouse/Adrian Bott stable, who were chasing a first win in the Port Macquarie with the classy Group performer Caped Crusader.

Sofin, one of only two horses Fry has in work, delivered a knockout blow when she trounced Caped Crusader by five lengths to become the first horse to win the Cup Prelude and Port Macquarie Cup double.

Fry, who works as a farrier, originally had leading Coffs Harbour jockey Raymond Stokes booked to ride the five-year-old.

However Looker landed the wining ride in the Cup Prelude when Stokes was sidelined and Fry was happy to keep the winning combination together last Friday.

It was an overdue win for Grafton-based Looker as the 26-year-old could have ridden the winner Desert Bunny in the 2010 Port Macquarie Cup but opted instead to ride at a Queensland meeting on the same day.

“Shannon booked me for the Prelude and that was my first ride for him since I won on another horse for him a few months ago,” Looker said.

“Sofin has been going super and I was very confident she could win after the way she won the Prelude.

“”She’s very underrated and she’s now shown everyone what she’s really capable of.

“Shannon doesn’t train a lot of horses so it’s good to get a big win together in a $100,000 race.”

Sofin has now won nine of her 28 starts and more than $230,000 prizemoney, a great return on the $6000 she cost her owner Byron Fegan, a retired stock and station agent who lives at South West Rocks.

Sofin certainly deserved a big win as she had previously finished second in the Wauchope and South Grafton Cups, third in the Sawtell Cup and fourth in the Coffs Harbour Cup.

Fry will now give the mare a let up then get her ready for the re-scheduled $85,000 Coffs Harbour Cup (2000m) that will be run on December 9 after being abandoned due to heavy rain in August.

Fegan purchased Sofin after a fatal injury to another horse he had trained by Fry.

“Shannon was taking the horse to Grafton for its second career start when it got down in the float and broke its leg,” Fegan said.

“He was so upset so I decided to go to the Nathan Tinkler dispersal sale at the Gold Coast and buy another horse for him.

“I got Sofin for $6000 and tried to get a few mates to come in with me but they said she was too cheap and would be no good so I have had to race her myself.”

The only other horse in Fry’s stable is an unraced three year old by Zoffany also owned by Fegan.