The plan Michelle Fleming devised for her assault on the Gunnedah Cup (1600m) was a spectacular success, with seven-year-old gelding Manabar beating a strong field to win the $36,000 race at Tamworth on Sunday afternoon.
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Ably ridden by Jeff Penza, Manabar was ideally placed turning onto the straight and powered home over the last 400 metres - beating the Stephen Jones-trained Herzegovina (Grant Buckley) by just over half a length.
The Marc Quinn-trained Cogliere (Luke Rolls) flashed home to finish third, in the feature race of an eight-race TAB showcase meeting.
Kootingal-based Fleming said she would not have entered Manabar in the Cup had he not pulled up well after finishing sixth over 1400m at Newcastle last Tuesday.
She said: "He's nice and fit ... It's a bit later in his prep.
"So, I knew after he pulled up really well at Newcastle the other day that he'd run a really good race today [Sunday], even though ... there were so many good horses in it.
I was just so happy that ran well, and Jeff Penza rode him a treat.
- Michelle Fleming
"I was just so happy that he ran well, and Jeff Penza rode him a treat. So I'm over the moon."
The day was made even more special by it being the first cup win for Manabar's owners, the Outback Syndicate.
They have had a long association with Fleming, who said: "They're a great bunch of owners ... They've never won a cup, and they're just thrilled to bits."
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It was Manabar's ninth win in 43 starts, taking his career prize money to more than $134,000. He paid $7 for the win (TAB fixed odds).
In the day's other feature race, the $29,000 Lightning Showcase Handicap, the Aleacia Bennett-trained Malahat (Jacob Golden) edged the Troy O'Neile-trained Lord Tony (Mikayla Weir) - with the Kris Lees-trained Magnolia Power (Andrew Gibbons) third.
