Harnes racing trainer Steve Dolan has put his neck on the chopping board and come up with fillet steak.
The Russley trainer took a punt when starting smart filly Tintinara in the Timaru Winter Cup on Sunday, but his confidence has paid off.
Tintinara's previous 13 starts were all from behind the mobile but Dolan was confident his filly would step from the stand. He was right.
Tintinara's blistering win over the 2600m stopped the clock at 3-16.9, just seven tenths of a second outside Miss Elsie's national record for a three-year-old filly of 3.16.2 set back in 2011.
Her mile rate was 2-01.8 and the last quarter in 28.8 was impressive with no serious challengers pushing her.
"I'm absolutely rapt with her, she's going from strength to strength," Dolan said.
The only three-year-old in the field, Tintinara, had run most of the field off their feet before they turned for home, but with 200m to run she found another gear to increase her lead to three and a half lengths at the post.
"He's a god given talent that boy," Dolan said after Dexter Dunn's perfectly rated front running drive.
"He's deserving to be the world's best driver right now."
"We're really fortunate and I thank my lucky stars that we have someone like him in our hemisphere and in our lifetime to be driving our horses because he makes a big, big difference."
Tintinara pinged off the tapes from her unruly mark to find the lead halfway through the first bend.
Dunn poured the pace on and in the words of commentator Matt Cross, had the field "strung out like sausages on a butcher's hook" after three quarters of a lap.
Such was the tempo, the field only bunched up when they went past the winning post with a lap to run.
Boomer Bailey clung on for second from the trail and Sandvik Star was one of few who made ground to finish third.
Favourite Naughty Maravu was never able to get close from his 20m handicap and ran on for seventh.
Sunday's victory was win number five for Tintinara in just 14 starts for owners and breeders Terry and Adrienne Taylor.
Dolan is pleased to have the promising filly in his stable and said she will be back next year to have a crack at some of the four-year-old mares races.
The Taylor's bred the filly by Falcon Seelster out of their mare Arden's Fame who was winless from 12 starts.
Tintinara was the first ballet for the three-year-old Diamond at the Harness Jewels.
She is now likely to head to Ashburton for a C2-C4 fillies and mares mobile over 2400m on July 19.
In the opening race of the day, Robert Dunn brought up a century of training wins for the season when Mr Meddle won the amateur drivers race in the hands of Daniel Reardon.
It is the second season in a row that the Dunn stable has gone past 100 winners and it is on track to go past last years personal best of 103.
Mat Kermeen
Reprinted with the permission of Fairfax New Zealand