Mark Zahra, whose usual celebratory drink is champagne, stated he would switch things up on Saturday night after securing a special victory early in the Flemington card. The accomplished jockey guided the visiting filly Lara Antipova to victory in the first running of the $175,000 Listed Mike Moroney (1400m), a race named in honour of the late former trainer.

Zahra was a frequent rider for Moroney, who achieved significant success in Australia from his Flemington stables, accumulating 57 wins, including three at Group 1 level. Zahra committed to celebrating the win with Moroney’s favoured drink.

“It’s very special, he was a good friend of mine, I rode a lot of winners for him (and he was) just all round great bloke,” Zahra said. “No one had anything bad to say about him, so an absolute privilege (to win). “I have a glass of red for Mike tonight.”

Lara Antipova is trained by Moroney’s compatriot, Mark Walker, who had a professional relationship with the Melbourne Cup winning trainer before his relocation to Australia. Walker conveyed his pleasure at seeing the talented filly perform well in Australia.

“It’s great today for the New Zealand industry that our form stacks up,” Walker said. “She is a Group 1 winner at home and I know this is a Listed race, but it was a quality field today, so it’s just really good when our form stacks up. “Hopefully we go on to a Thousand Guineas from here.”

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