The Norm Loy-trained Sanctimonious makes winning debut for stable at the Sapphire Coast

But he wasn't complaining after Sanctimonious saluted at the Sapphire Coast the previous day and made the 12 hour round trip worthwhile.

Sanctimonious is only a recent stable addition and made it a winning debut for Loy in the $22,000 Class One Hcp, (1200m).

Son, Brodie, partnered the gelding to victory which was the second leg of a double after winning earlier in the day aboard the Gratz Vella-trained Romeo Vella.

Loy said it was a long but successful trip to the coastal track.

"By the time I got home, fed the horses and had a shower it was 2am before I got to bed," Loy said.

"I don't mind making the trek to places like the Sapphire Coast and Moruya if I think I can win.

"I have had a fair bit of success there previously but you have to pick your races because it's a long way to go if you finish outside the placings."

Sanctimonious was previously trained by Tony McEvoy.

The five-year-old gelding boasts a Moonee Valley win as a two-year-old and has now had 12-starts for two wins and two minor placings.

Brodie settled near the tail the field before Sanctimonious unleashed a sustained sprint down the middle of the track.

The $4-favourite surged to the lead over the final 100m to score by almost a length.

Loy said Sanctimonious had the potential to be a handy sprinter for the stable for a cheap purchase price.

"We only paid $17,000 for him and he picked up $11,000 for winning," he said.

"It was a good effort because he had to lump 61.5kg and is the type of horse that you have to ride quite early and he tends to get a long way back in his races."

Brodie made an earlier then expected return to the saddle last week after being crushed by a horse in a track work mishap in October that was expected to keep him on the sidelines to early in the new year.

"The doctor can't believe how quickly Brodie recovered from the accident," he said.

"He's lucky, it could have been a lot worse."