You could not have asked for a better start to Tradies and Ladies Day if you were Alison Smith.
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The Orange trainer made the bold decision to enter five-year-old mare Who's Tinny ($6.5) in race one at Towac Park on Friday and it paid off in the perfect way.
Ridden by jockey Kath Bell-Pitomac, Who's Tinny was amongst the middle of the pack of the Winning Edge Presentations Benchmark 58 Handicap (2100m) until the final straight where a burst of speed saw her break away for a win by 6.5 lengths.
Speaking to Sky Racing afterwards, a proud Smith said it wasn't perfect, but it would do.
"I thought her race was pretty good even though she did everything wrong down the straight," she said.
"She's been a very difficult horse. We've spent a long time getting this horse to the races and getting it right.
"That was pretty good today, I'm pretty happy with that, pretty stoked."
While the win wasn't a complete shock, the manner is which it came was.
"We thought there's a few horses in it that have won races and (Dean Mirfin's) horses have been going well," Smith added.
"It's always a big thing to break your maiden and then step up. That's been nearly 3.5 weeks between runs because Bathurst last week was called off. She hasn't surprised me but she's shocked me with how well she won it."
Bell-Pitomac was delighted after an early setback.
"Drawing barrier one, she doesn't like being in the barriers so it's a spot where you don't want to be," she told Sky Racing after the win.
"During the race, when the other horse came around I was like 'I have to get going so she doesn't get jammed in here' and you don't want to go too soon, but she's tough and she loves the softer tracks and she's a tough mare, but you have to work with her, she's got to do things when she wants.
"I had that worry where I didn't want to go as early as I did and they may just run me down, but nothing was coming behind me so we just keep going."
Smith and Bell-Pitomac couldn't replicate the magic during the Inland Digital Maiden Plate (1280m), where Krissy Krystyna ($18) finished sixth.
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