Wil Johns takes out the Devonport Gift

Coach Peter Fitzgerald’s successful Christmas Carnivals campaign continued with the gifts at Devonport, with Will Johns joining Morgan Mitchell as champions of the 400 metre event.

IT’S MINE: Melbourne’s Will Johns celebrates his win in the Devonport Gift on Tuesday. Picture: Cordell Richardson.

It followed Morgan and Sam Baird winning at Latrobe on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old from Melbourne admitted to plenty of nerves before the race, before winning in a time of 47.57.

He finished in front of fellow Melbourne product Ollie Wurm and Sydney’s Josh Ralph.

“It was unreal,’’ Johns said.

“Fitzy just said go out hard and stay relaxed and ‘I believe in you, you have been training well’ and here we are. I was confident, but I didn’t expect to win a 400, as it certainly isn’t my forte.”

The victory came after handicap  was brought back from 20 metres to 16 metres.

“I had an inkling that it probably would, as I thought 20 metres was a bit generous.

“When I got the word it had gone back, I just blocked it out really, as that is better for you training wise.”

Johns said the support from his stablemates helped make the Christmas Carnivals experience all the more easier.

“It is amazing, as our squad is just so talented and we definitely bounce off each other, and as cliche as it sounds, it is a mini family really.

“Fitzy leads from the front and Morgan has been the most successful of us, and that all motivates each other with good hard training and that is succeeding at the moment.”