French import Don Diego De Vega has posted his second Australian success in winning a drama-packed Grafton Cup.

Sent out as an equal favourite, Don Diego De Vega settled behind the leader under Zac Lloyd before gaining the upper hand over Quietness.

Quietness, who also shared the top line of betting as a $4.60 chance, threw the race away after leading.

He ran about under pressure in the straight before going under by three-quarters-of-a-length.

Zoology ($15) finished a length away third.

The well-supported Bear On The Loose was scratched at the barriers of the $200,000 Listed race.

Racing for prominent syndicator Australian Bloodstock, Don Diego De Vega, a son of Lope De Vega, arrived in Australia with French record of two wins and a Listed placing alongside his name.

The five-year-old has now won twice in Australia, with Thursday’s win providing co-trainers Annabel and Rob Archibald with their first Grafton Cup success.

“My plan sort of changed in the barriers when Bear On The Loose got scratched as one of the speed runners in the race,” Lloyd said.

“Going to the gates he was full of energy so I was confident he was going to begin well and once he did that it made my job pretty easy.

“(I) got the perfect run behind Quietness and obviously it rolled off the fence and my bloke shot through.”

From The Newsdesk