MELBOURNE - Lightweight jockey Stephen Baster weathered suspensions, personal trauma and one of the leanest runs in his career before triumphing with a last-to-first-win on Divine Madonna in Saturday's group one Emirates Stakes at Flemington.
Baster, 31, posted just his second city win for the season on theAdelaide-trained mare who was the widest runner turning for home in the 1610m feature but got up to beat Niconero by a long neck with last year's winner Valedictum 1 1/2 lengths away third.
New Zealand mare Seachange used up all her gas getting to the leaders from a wide draw and faded badly in the run home to finish second last.
Divine Madonna's trainer Mark Kavanagh, 49, was overwhelmed with his third group one winner while Baster was beaming after posting his ninth.
Only three weeks ago Baster finished second on the Gai Waterhouse-trained Aqua D'Amore in the Caulfield Cup but admitted it had been a frustrating and tough period for him both professionally and personally.
His mother Gill is recovering from bowel cancer while he has struggled to get a foothold in the spring carnival, which started off with a series of suspensions.
"I had about three suspensions which is not a good way to start leading into spring so it has been a very hard climb back," Baster said. "I usually get a lot of the lightweights and usually they are not the good rides but luckily this one was."
Baster, who was unable to get back on Aqua D'Amore after Tawqeet narrowly beat her in the Caulfield Cup, said Divine Madonna was the fastest horse he had ridden this spring but he was never confident she was going to win on Saturday.
"She was going to have to sprint very quick and I haven't been on a horse this season that has sprinted that quick," Baster said.
"It was a huge effort."
Baster's Emirates win coincided with positive news about his mother's health after she responded well to chemotherapy. "They got it [the cancer] early and it looks like she is in the clear now," the jockey said.
