To Cameron, Saturday's victory capped a lot of quests, including last season's jockeys' premiership.
He had to do it tough to achieve this one. Cameron has to have a decent sweat to ride 54kg - he had to get down to 52.5 to ride Maygrove. The Cambridge stayer was assessed at 52kg and Cameron was allowed the additional half a kilo under the Rules Of Racing.
"The last time I rode 52.5kg was when I won the Auckland Cup in March last year on Who Shot Thebarman," he says.
There is something very Jimmy Cassidy-ish about Matt Cameron. He doesn't bash them up with the whip.
Like Cassidy, he gets them into a challenging position before asking them for their best and bustles and bullies them without hurting.
In certain races you can see horses Cameron is riding thinking about giving up. He has the ability to persuade them to change their mind, but it's always benevolent, not hurtful.
He is an example of the old line that the whip is the last resort of a good rider and the first resort of a bad one. Jim Cassidy is the prime example. He's ridden 100 group one winners and hardly bashed up one of them.
There was a lot of confidence in the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman stable that Maygrove could get the job done, particularly after his close second in the Marton Cup when considered in need of the run.
Cameron rode him like the best horse in the race and that's the way it panned out. It was a beautiful ride, just far enough off the pace to be relaxed and the good tempo allowed Maygrove to stride out smoothly and not race fiercely on the bit as he can do when the tempo is slow.
That's mental immaturity and Forsman expects to see a different, more mature Maygrove next preparation.
It's a decent stretch to say any New Zealand horse, or Australian horse for that matter, is a Melbourne Cup type these days, but Maygrove certainly looks up to Auckland Cup and Sydney Cup strength.
The head-on electronic image of the finish of a race will generally tell you 99 per cent of what you need to know in a protest situation.
In the Soriano V Puccini $200,000 Thorndon Mile bunfight the side-on proved crucial in the protest against Puccini being dismissed.
The head-on was dramatic, showing Puccini and Danielle Johnson shifting out close to six horse widths in the closing stages.
From the head-on you could be fairly certain it was only in the final two strides that Puccini came into contact with Soriano.
So, you go back to the side-on which clearly showed the differential between the two horses did not alter in those closing strides.
Game over.
The question is whether Trackside TV kept viewers informed to the minute about such an important inquiry. A window on the screen during the hearing would be appreciated.
Puccini's return to form is a triumph for trainers Peter and Jacob McKay, who have struggled for 12 months to properly settle a horse whose fired-up racing manners can be problematic when not ridden quietly. "It's why his form is looking better at 1600m," said Peter McKay.
"It's only because the faster pace allows him more opportunity to relax than 2000m does."
Walk in the park
*Maygrove had few problems outclassing her rivals in the Wellington Cup on Saturday.
*There is sufficient improvement left to suggest he could be an Auckland Cup contender.
*Puccini back in form was a narrow win in the Thorndon Mile.
