Mazikeen backs up maiden win in style | Video

The four-year-old again showed plenty of resilience, sitting in the death seat for much of the 2190m trip before gaining the upper hand over the more-experienced Brett Shipway-trained mare Di Li to win by a half-head.

A stirring win for Mazikeen came fast on the heels of her maiden victory at Kilmore on October 15.

It delivered Campbell a satisfying third win from her last three starters, with her back-to-back wins with Mazikeen bookending a barnstorming victory by Belittled at Swan Hill last Monday night.

Champion reinsman Greg Sugars, who is developing a nice affinity with Mazikeen, having driven the daughter of Bacardi Lindy in each of her three-starts this preparation for two wins and a first-up seventh at Kilmore in the mare's return from an 18-month break with a tendon injury, said it was a terrific win.

"She needed that first-up run when we made the mistake and it was a good solid win at Kilmore. She felt even better today (Sunday)," he said.

"Obviously with the three runs under her belt, she is getting stronger and sharper and holding together, which is the main thing.

"When challenged up the straight, I had a little nervous moment that I might have gone for home too soon, but she dug deep, the big girl.

"Both horses (Mazikeen and Di Li) didn't shirk the issue, they were doing their best that's for sure and were both probably out on their feet to some degree, but they were happy to race each other, so it was a great contest."

The win boosted Mazikeen's overall record to two wins from five starts. Her first two runs were in late-2019 before succumbing to her tendon injury.

Asked what the future held, Sugars was cautiously confident there would be more wins ahead for the Campbell-trained trotter.

"If all stays well with her, she's certainly got a few more wins in store," he said.

"Just the way she goes about it, she's quite strong, which is very important with trotters.

"She's developing a bit more speed too now she got a few runs under her belt too.

"It's hard to say for sure, but certainly on her last two wins it's not her last win."

Also at Maryborough, Kate Hargreaves continued her stable's good momentum by claiming a maiden win with the pacing-bred trotter Unspoken Love.

The Shelbourne trainer has endured a long wait for the three-year-old filly's first win, but her patience and persistence were rewarded with a nice win in the Elaine Angus Memorial Trot (2190m).

The daughter of Sportswriter and the mare Im Justforyou has been a definite work in progress, according to stable foreman Jack MacKinnon, who claimed the winning drive.

"She's a bit of a funny mare, she can be a bit temperamental at times, but it was good to see her put it all together," he said.

"She just has a little bit of trouble overracing, but she's really starting to relax in her races now. She was very green, she didn't really know how to race.

"I was quite happy with (barrier eight), she can get a bit fired up on the gate and you've just go to let her get her head and let her roll forward.

"Having the second row draw, I thought if she could just relax and work into the race late, I was pretty confident."

While he felt Unspoken Lover had 'a long way to go', MacKinnon believed she had the makings of being 'a much better horse' in her four-year-old season.

The win was the 84th this season for Hargreaves and followed a double at Horsham on Thursday with Honour Without Glory and Blackbird Miss

The feature event on Sunday - the $24,000 Group 3 True Roman Trotters Free For All - was won the David Aiken-trained and Josh Aiken-driven Aldebaran Crescent in an upset over Is That A Bid and the $1.60 favourite Majestuoso.

Julie Douglas maintained her strong grip at the top of the Victorian trainer's premiership standings by scoring a win with Khaki Nui at Saturday night's Geelong Pacing Cup meeting.

The five-year-old gelding, driven by Glenn Douglas, claimed his seventh win in 16 starts since joining the Strathfieldsaye-based stable from New Zealand in June this year with a polished performance.

It was his first city-level success.

Khaki Nui, by Big Jim out of the mare Nui Thi Vai, kick-started his Australian career with four straight wins in June and July, but had gone five starts without a win before Saturday's return to form.

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