Warrnambool's Josh Bail says a maiden Stawell Gift appearance is very much in his sights after back-to-back victories in the mile at Warrnambool and Terang. The 19-year-old took out both 1600-metre finals at the Warrnambool and Terang Gifts on December 2-3, 2023, just two weeks after winning the 800-metre final at the Geelong Gift. It's been a perfect introduction to handicapped racing for Bail, who made his Victorian Athletic League debut at Geelong and picked up sashes in all three meetings he's attended. "Stawell would be incredible - going three-from-three, I'm still a bit star struck," Bail said. "Stawell Gift is definitely on the cards, it's something I'm looking forward to. "You've got international athletes, Australian greats, Olympians there. "If I get a chance to run in that I would take it." With grander aspirations set towards the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, Bail is enjoying his hard work paying off with race wins. His victory at Warrnambool was made even sweeter considering it was on home soil. "Unbelievable... it meant so much to me to get the job done in front of my family," he said. Despite battling a cold earlier in the week, Bail chased down his rivals from the back-mark in both races - 100m at Warrnambool before it was cut further to 85m at Terang. "There was quite a bit of ground to make up, the frontmarker being 400m," he said. With a plan to pick off his rivals one-by-one, Bail hit the final straight at Warrnambool in second, before catching the leader with 70 metres to go to hold on for a thrilling half-a-second win. Recovery became the focus for Terang's mile the following day - made easier by being scheduled later in the afternoon. "It felt a lot better than Warrnambool, really, really confident going into that one knowing I'd won the day before," Bail said. "Coming into the final lap, I could see I only had 40m to make up... I knew I had it in me and in my legs. "To win by five or six seconds was incredible". Bail said he would contest two more race meetings for 2023 before spending the month of January in Costa Rica on a university study trip. His first race of 2024 will be at the Ballarat Gift on February 10.