There were thrills aplenty during the running of Saturday's ARC Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m) at Ellerslie but after the dust settled it was Whanganui mare Magic Wonder who completed the prestigious Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4900m) and Great Northern Steeplechase double with a dominant front-running victory.
In a race full of incidents that included three runners falling shortly after completing the first of three laps in the contest, a nasty accident was narrowly avoided when the remaining five jockeys managed to steer around a group of weekend golfers, who had strayed onto the track from the nine-hole golf course on the Ellerslie infield, approaching the first of the grandstand double.
With all that mayhem happening around him, Magic Wonder's rider Shaun Fannin kept a cool head as he controlled the pace before skipping clear down the famous Ellerslie hill the last time to scoot clear and register a dominant nine-length victory.
"It was a bit of a shame for the race as you want the competition to stay on their feet," trainer Jo Rathbone said when referring to the race falls.
"I was happy when Shaun took her to the front as she goes best when she gets in a nice rhythm, so she was happy like that.