Jockey Rachel King made all the right moves on and off the track to win the 125th edition of the Newcastle Gold Cup with Military Mission and hand superstar trainer Gai Waterhouse an eighth victory in the race at Broadmeadow on Friday.
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Military Mission, an Irish-bred six-year-old gelding, raced midfield in the 2300-metre, group 3 event before coming wide on the home turn and into the clear.
Leaders Spirit Ridge and Newcastle-trained Hosier stole a gap with 200m to go but Military Mission, a $16 chance, kept coming down the centre of the track.
He nabbed them close to the line for a third of a length win in a track record time of two minutes, 22.4 seconds.
Annabel Neasham-trained Spirit Ridge was second and Mark Minervini-prepared Hosier was another half a length back in third.
It was Waterhouse's eighth win in the cup, the $300,000 headline race of Newcastle's two-day spring carnival, and third while in partnership with Adrian Bott.
A relieved King was celebrating her first Newcastle Cup victory, which came after advising Waterhouse to take the blinkers off Military Mission following a 10th in CTC Cup at Randwick on September 2.
"He's very tough and I'm just so glad it all worked out because I was keen to try him without the blinkers this start, and it was a risk, but thank God it all paid off, otherwise I think I would have been in a lot of trouble," King said.
"I thought I'd get there, but it's quite a fast track and he probably hasn't raced on many surfaces this quick, so it was a good effort to make up that much ground and be so strong late."
King, though, was worried early after a slow start.
"He can go to sleep a little bit in the gates and he probably did that a bit today," she said. "He hadn't had the blinkers off for a very long time, so I don't think he quite knew what to do.
"My first thought was, 'Gai's going to kill me', but he ended up in a really nice spot and he has won from that position before, just off the speed, so I was still confident he was going to run a big race."
The win continues a great run for the Englishwoman at Newcastle.
"My first group win was here, in the Newcastle Newmarket on Lanciato, so it's a place where I've had some good memories, but it was good to get a Newcastle Cup," said King, who also won the group 3 Spring Stakes on Asiago at the track.
The victory secures a place in the group 1 Metropolitan and King believed Military Mission could improve again for the major step up.
"He just keeps getting better this horse, like a lot of imports do," she said.
"Prep by prep, they build confidence and he's probably learned to race a little more to our pattern here, which is why he is probably ready to have the blinkers off now.
"He's very professional in every thing that he's doing and I just love his attitude.
"He'll just give everything for you, always 110 per cent, and that's what I love most about him."
Waterhouse-Bott stable representative Neil Paine said it was an unbelievable effort.
"This horse goes so good for Rachel," Paine said.
"She just gets the horse relaxed.
"It was a terrific win and a terrific ride by Rachel."
Newcastle Jockey Club chief Duane Dowell estimated a crowd of more than 2000 at Friday's meeting and he expected 3000 plus on Saturday.
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