Glamour mare Wink And A Nod landed the second-leg of a feature double to cap a memorable afternoon of racing for father and daughter combination, Justin and Lucy Warwick.
Wink And A Nod gave the Warwick family four of the eight winners on the programme after earlier wins to Elegant Blast, Cool Passion and The Flirt.
Wink And A Nod , who won the Belmont Sprint (1400m) last-start, had to work hard for her victory, giving favourite punters a few anxious moments.
The McFlirt mare settled seventh in running and took the length of the straight to reel in stable newcomer, Zarantz, who ran a bold first-up race.
But she dug deep and hit her straps over the concluding stages, shading Zarantz to score by a head with rank outsider, Gris Caro, close behind for third.
Wink And A Nod improved her record to 15 wins from 36 starts, including seven black-type races, boosting her stake earnings to $779,766.
Warwick was quick to sing the praises of his super six-year-old, who is seriously being considered for a tilt against the elite in Melbourne later this year.
“She finds the line like no horse I have had before,” Warwick said.
“She has all the ability in the world.”
Warwick, who claimed his second Hyperion Stakes success after Black Tycoon won three years ago, said he would let the dust settle before contemplating Wink And A Nod tackling next fortnight’s Group 3 Strickland Stakes (2000m).
“I will wait and see and watch the replay to see how she ran through the line and the others as well,” Warwick said.
Elegant Blast kicked off an awesome day for the Warwick’s, but she had to pull out all stops in the Pink Ladies Day Luncheon-July 9 Plate (1300m).
Sent out an odds favourite after an impressive maiden win last month. Elegant Blast caused a few heart flutters for punters, but she nailed Veuve De Vega on the line.
The promising Blackfriars filly, who prevailed by a short-head, will head for a spell and looks capable of playing a part in feature races at Ascot later in the year.
Cool Passion maintained her imposing strike rate with a dominant win in the Schweppes Handicap (1000m), overcoming a wide run to defeat King River by 1 1/2 lengths with Malibu Style a breath away third.
Cool Passion, a daughter of Not A Single Doubt, has not missed a cheque in her career, posting six wins, two seconds and one third from eight starts.
The Flirt defied Warwick’s scepticism, top weight of 59kg and his first attempt at a middle distance staying journey, with a gritty win in the Belmont Bonanza-Only $20 Handicap (2100m).
“The horse is strong and I thought he would get the 2000m,” Warwick said.
“I thought the weight might have been against him.”
Julio Santarelli