A gritty performance from progressive mare Galaxy Miss took jockey Michael Coleman to within touching distance of a magical 2000th career victory when she took out the Print House 1200 at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Coleman has been in a rare vein of form in recent weeks as he bids to become just the seventh member of the elusive "2000 Club".
The victory was win number 1996 for the Matamata hoop who produced a typically classy effort to land the Tavistock five-year-old a narrow but decisive winner.
Galaxy Miss bounced nicely from a handy barrier to settle in the trail behind free-goer Dancing Flames who set a strong pace throughout the rating 85 1200 metre contest. Angled into the clear by Coleman as they entered the home straight, the mare appeared to battle a little as race-favourite Selfie swept past her as he chased down the flying Dancing Flames.
Under an aggressive Coleman ride Galaxy Miss picked up the bit and charged to the lead in the final 100 metres to score by a comfortable three-quarters of a length from Dancing Flames who fought back courageously to shade Selfie for second.