Premier Port Macquarie jockey Peter Graham--the "king" of riding winners at Wauchope--went within a short half-head of snaring a winning treble on the five-race card at Wauchope Jockey Club's meeting at home on Saturday.

He won on Kempsey's The Sheik (5-4 to 13-8on),Port's Baby Cino (6-4) and just failed on Coffs Harbour mare Golstram (2-1) behind Armidale gelding Hard Castle (6-1).

Graham certainly had to work for his victories with long heads being the winning margins and then had to wait while connections of two gallopers viewed the course steward's film to see whether they had grounds for a protest.

This was after the George Woodward-trained Baby Cino scored in the Prostrate Cancer Foundation Ratings Based 55 Handicap over 1000m,the five-year-old mare backing up from a fifth behind Inca Princess when resuming from a spell at Port on the Monday.

Runner-up Star Of Babylon's trainer Julie Hodder,of Kempsey,was first to declare she wanted to look at the head-on view and then Port's Tas Morton,trainer of the third placegetter,Hastings Crown,also weighed into the discussions of whether his horse got a fair go.

Hodder thought that Baby Cino and her horse bumped in the straight,which they did,and Morton said his galloper was cut out of running early in the race.

Both Graham and Star Of Babylon's jockey,Craig Franklin,of Coffs Harbour,before viewing the film said that both horses contributed to the bumping.

"Mine laid in and the other laid out,"was the consesnus.

Graham said:"Both horses had their chances."

The three lengths margin between Star Of Babylon and Hastings Crown proved a vital factor for not protesting.

After viewing the film,connections of both gallopers did not protest.

Despite the slow-rated track,The Sheik,trained by owner Eddie Yabsley,notched a good 58.94s for the 1000m in the Wauchope Cup--Sunday 15th June Ratings Based 72 Handicap,only just over 1.5s above the record set by Sleekist in 1993.

"That was a good barrier trial...he is a pretty good horse,"Yabsley said.

It was The Sheik's first run since scoring a big win at the Kempsey Cup Carnival on May 8.

"My horse had a fair bit of racing on heavy tracks and with big weights and needed a little rest."

Graham had no hesitation using the four-year-old gelding's speed by leading but was pressured up till the turn by Wauchope's Final Truce in a keenly run affair for a four-horse race.

He was able to nurse the gelding around the tight home-turn before giving it full-bore to just stave off five-year-old Kempsey mare Little Emily (2-1),trained by Barry Ratcliff.

"He (The Shiek) handled the track a bit better today and got around the corner better,"Graham said.

At The Sheik's previous run at the track when second to Casino Bob,Graham said the gelding wasn't exactly at home on the course at its first try.

Yablsey said he was looking at about three options as to where to start his horse next.

Graham threw everything but the kitchen sink at Golstram,trained by Brett Dodson,and just failed to catch Hard Castle in the Contour Bobcat & Tipper Hire Ratings Based 58 Handicap over 1800m.

He was back in seventh place early whereas Tamworth jockey Geoffrey Snowden was sitting pretty in a trailing position just behind the leader,Kempsey's Will Strike.

"It was a long way to come but it was worth it,"said Armidale trainer Frank Tanner.

"But you have to travel these days to find suitable races."