Patience paid off for the connections of Honor And Glory when the pacer won at Invercargill on Sunday.

The Art Major four-year-old, from former classy race-mare, Breath Of Life, justified his $1.30 win-price when scoring a maiden victory over 2200m.

Merv and Meg Butterworth, of Victoria, parted with $170,000 to secure Honor And Glory at the 2016 yearlings sales.

Injury woes have meant it has taken the horse nearly three years to start paying off some of his purchase price.

The full brother to four-time Gr.1 winner, Fight For Glory, was bred by Diane Cournane and husband, Noel.

The couple went on to rejoin the Butterworths in the horse’s ownership three month’s after his sale.

After being broken in by Mark Smolenski, Honor And Glory had a three month break, before joining the All Stars stable.

That is where things got tricky - he would well pacing in a straight line, but hitched on bends.

It took some serious veterinary work to find the problem.

“He went though Bill Bishop's nuclear scanner and he found bony changes in all four fetlocks,” Diane Cournane said.

“They treated him, he was turned out for six or seven months, went back to All Stars but was the same again.

“They described it like having a stone in your shoe.”

So, Honor And Glory had 12 months out and missed his three-year-old term completely.

During that time, Cournane’s niece, Lauren Pearson, and her partner, Brent Barclay, were preparing the promising three-year-old Duke Of Wellington.

The Butterworths gained a share in the gelding prior to him winning the Southland Supremacy Stakes in April, and took outright ownership afterwards.

Cournane said Merv Butterworth was so impressed with the way Lauren and Brent turned their horses out that when Honor And Glory was ready to resume he had no hesitation in offering them him as well.

Lauren had some worries about the well-bred four-year-old on the 1000m track at Invercargill heading in to Sunday’s race.

She said she expects him to be even better suited by the roomier Wyndham circuit for his next outing.

Duke Of Wellington had his first workout as a four-year-old last week and was a winner.

“He has grown so much I can't see over him now,” Pearson said

“I was pleased with him, he was strong to the line.”