The race was viewed by a number of enthusiastic onlookers keen for the five year old gelding to cross the line first for popular Port Macquarie trainer Jenny Graham.

But it wasn't to be with Victorem coming home strongly before falling just short of the main prize.

Handle The Truth was the ultimate winner but was forced to dig deep in the final stages to stave off the fast-finishing Victorem.

A second place finish - off the back of a fifth in last year's race - will take the gelding's prizemoney to $1,194,250.

The trainer was fairly philosophical following the race but pointed out that the second place prizemoney was not bad.

"You can't grumble about claiming $260,000 for running second," Graham said after the run.

"I was very happy with the preparation in the lead up to the race.

"I thought he ran an enormous race. I wasn't disappointed at all," she said.

"He ran very well and I think that, basically, on the day Handle The Truth - the eventual winner - was the better horse on the day.

"Our horse ran well, but the other horse was better. It's that simple."

Graham pointed to the last 600 metre sectional time which was "very strong", she said.

"I think he ran something like 33.68 seconds; we were very happy with that outcome."

Graham is already planning Victorem's next run, likely to be at Newcastle in about a month.

"I am thinking about running him in The Hunter at Newcastle in about four weeks," she said.

"It is a bit longer at 1300 metres and I think that's a race that I do have in my mind. The distance would suit him."

The Hunter boasts a total prize pool of $1,000,000 and is at handicap conditions with no restrictions to horse age or gender and is raced over 1300m and will be positioned to attract horses coming out of The Everest, according to Racing NSW.

The 2019 Hunter will be run on Saturday November 16, 2019 at Newcastle racecourse.

Victorem jockey Tommy Berry event felt he was in with a great chance to win the race.

He told Racing NSW he had the winner's back in the run.

"At the top of the straight I thought I was going to pick him up quite easily but on that firm track he just struggled to catch him late," Berry said.

"The horse is going well, he was only first up and he's going to take a lot of improvement out of it."

Berry also added he felt the Port Macquarie galloper was just short of a run

Port Macquarie's other two gallopers in the race Up Trumpz and Awesome Pluck were in with their chances.

Jockey Mark Zahra said: "Up Trumpz went okay. A lower grade is his go."

While Josh Parr said Awesome Pluck was "disappointing."

"He has ability but his brain lets him down at this stage," Parr said.

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