Snipex Abaa was on her best behaviour for once as she edged Military Bay in the $12,000 Willow Tree Cup (1000m) at Quirindi.
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Snipex Abaa - ridden by Greg Ryan - is trained by Quirindi's Geoff O'Brien, who previously won the Willow Tree Cup with Blood Red Moon in 2015.
O'Brien has worked hard to settle the temperamental five-year-old mare. Earlier this year she was scratched in Armidale after playing up in the barriers.
O'Brien described Snipex Abaa as a "half-decent" racehorse, but "a bit of a firecracker in the barriers".
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He pulled her from racing following the scratching in order to work on her composure - returning after "probably two months" with a third in a trial at Quirindi on June 11 and then Saturday's Cup triumph, in what is a benchmark 58 race.
The trainer targeted the Cup because it was the horse's home track and he wanted to keep "everything plan and simple for her, as much as we could".
"Lucky she drew alley [five]," he said. "That made her last or second last to go in, and the plan sort of came to fruition, really."
Snipex Abaa, the favourite, carried 57 kilograms and paid $2.90 (starting price) for the win. She now has fours wins and eight placings from 24 starts.
The Mark Schmetzer-trained Military Bay was ridden by four-kilogram-claiming apprentice Yvette Lewis.
The Daniel Northey-trained Balantes (Melissa Dennett) was almost three-and-a-half lengths behind Snipex Abaa in third place.
