David Walsh admits he felt even more rejuvenated than comeback mare Tall Poppy when the pair went across the finish line in Saturday's $130,000 Thorndon Mile.
Lately, group one wins have not exactly come the way of the 41-year-old central districts jockey whose career looked close to over when he was wiped out for four months at the Queensland winter carnival last year.
He has been back riding full time only since December 14 and even a painful tennis elbow could not take away the joy he felt at Trentham.
What it did wipe away was any chance of accepting congratulatory shakes of his right hand.
"To win a group one so close after coming back is - well, I can't explain it in words," said an emotional Walsh.
"All I wanted to do was get back in with a good trainer and here I am riding for Noel [Eales].
"It's a fluke I ended up on Tall Poppy. Jim Walker got kicked at Palmerston North and here I am.
"This is one of my most satisfying wins. I feel sorry for Jim, but I was due to ride Ed in the Wellington Cup and Lance O'Sullivan ended up on him when I had a bad flip."
A kick from a horse damaged Walsh's elbow and he is having intensive physiotherapy.
Tall Poppy has long been one of New Zealand's most talented metric milers, but her overall form this campaign has been lengths below her best.
Eales believes the heat is at least a contributing factor.
"She is not thick winded but the heat and humidity do her no favours - they get her puffing. The cool week leading up to this race has helped her enormously.
Tall Poppy paid $33 and Eales admitted he got a little bit of the divvy.
"I wasn't cocky, that would have been too clever, but I thought she was a chance."
Walsh kept Tall Poppy outside the leader and shot her clear in the home straight.
"She's better in the open, she doesn't like being tightened up. She got a bit tightened last start and didn't like it."
Eales has a great record in the Thorndon Mile with all its name changes through the decades. He won it in the last decade with Surface, Happiness and Calm Harbour and took it in 1990 with Tall Poppy's dam Fun On The Run.
"I always said Tall Poppy was better than Fun On The Run, but there are similarities."
Tall Poppy is safely in foal to Volksraad. A decision has still to be made whether she will now be retired or race in the $100,000 Whakanui International Stud Stakes on Saturday week.
The final decision lies with the mare's owners Rex and Gerald Fell, proprietors of Fairdale Stud.
It has been a great week for the Fells with New Zealand Bloodstock's annual yearling sales series beginning tomorrow at 2 pm.
Good Power a half brother to the dam of Fell's outstanding mare Plume, won a feature race at Sha Tin in Hong Kong.
Fairdale has a Jetball colt out of a half sister to Good Power in the Select Colts session of the sale.
Class mare Giovana turned in a huge performance to finish second, bleeding lengths off Tall Poppy in the closing stages.
"Massive performance," said rider Peter Johnson.
"We didn't want to ride her handy because if I'd kicked her up and made her race handy it would have unsettled her for the 2000m of the Whakanui Stakes next start."
Noel Harris felt Cheiron (6th) being squeezed for racing room in the home straight cost him second and Michael Walker declared the 1600m a shade short for Country Rose, who finished fifth.
Platonic went the worst race of her career to finish 11th.
"Shocking," said trainer Graham Richardson.
Rider Leith Innes could not explain the performance.
"She just never got going."
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