I Wish I Win was trained here last season by Jamie Richards, who has moved to Hong King to train, and the son of Savabeel was sent across to Moody but is still majority owned by Waikato Stud boss Mark Chittick.
His victory is the richest race won by a horse with a majority New Zealand ownership and repaid the enormous faith Chittick showed in I Wish I Win, who was born with legs so badly out of shape he was never going to be a commercial sales prospect.
After a life dedicated to racing and breeding, Chittick's biggest win came when he was at home working in the foaling unit at Waikato Stud, and he says he would rather have been there than drinking champagne at Rosehill.
"If I was at Rosehill I'd be there watching it with a few people I know, here at the farm I was with 40 people I work with every day who love our horses," said Chittick.
"They are emotionally invested in them all, they all love Savabeel [I Wish I Win's sire] so to share this win with them means the world to us. It has been a long, wet testing spring at the stud and for all the staff, so to be here alongside them working is where I belong, no matter how big a raceday."
While the New Zealand-trained horses were usurped in some of the biggest races around Australia, the Kiwi horsepeople were still to the fore.
Derby winner Manzoice is trained by Chris Waller and was ridden by former Hawke's Bay jockey Michael Dee, the same combination who combined to win the Caulfield Cup two weeks ago.
And while expat jockey James McDonald had to settle for second in the Derby with Sharp 'N' Smart, who looked the winner at the 100m mark, he rode four of the first six winners at Flemington.
That puts him on target to beat the record he set last year of 10 winners over the Melbourne Cup week.
