The all-conquering Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman stable enjoyed a red-letter day on Saturday with a winning transtasman group one double to add to a brace of wins earlier in the day at Te Rapa.
Among those early Te Rapa victories was a game performance from four-year-old Rip Van Winkle mare Let Me Roar who overcame her toughest test to date when she took out the Team Wealleans open 1400. It was the mare's sixth win from as many starts and will now see her step up to the elite level to tackle the Manco Easter Stakes in a fortnight.
"It was a brave win as she drew the outside and was meeting a far better quality of horse than she has in the past," noted co-trainer Andrew Forsman.
"She is also a little better suited to going right-handed at this stage of her development so she did have a few factors against her. Class normally prevails though and she has a fair bit of that about her."
That class factor will be tested in the Manco Easter Stakes with Forsman keen to see her challenged at the top level.