A fortuitous piece of timing that put them in the right place at the right time paid dividends once again on Saturday for Otaki trainer Howie Mathews and his wife Lorraine.

Mathews produced former Cambridge galloper Yamato Nadeshiko to score handsomely over 2100 metres in rating 65 company at Awapuni, the four-year-old’s second win for the boutique Otaki operation since being purchased out of the Stephen Marsh stable earlier in the year.

The four-year-old Ekraar mare produced a superb staying performance in the hands of leading rider Lisa Allpress to make it back to back wins after opening her account for the Mathews’ on her home track last month.

“She is just a fabulous mare and a pleasure to do anything with,” noted Mathews.

“She hasn’t put a foot wrong since she joined us and has just got better and better the longer she has been with us.

“I thought we might have been in a little bit of trouble when she was back near the rear with a lap to run but Lisa slowly improved around the outer and she looked to be travelling pretty well on the corner. She did get out a bit wide in the run home but that was where the better ground was and she just kept trucking along.”

Mathews was quick to thank wife Lorraine who rides the mare in all her work and was also instrumental in the decision to purchase her when the opportunity arose.

“We normally have just a handful of horses in work however earlier in the year we decided we’d look around to see if we could pick up a tried horse or two to add to the team,” he explained.

“We were looking at a couple of horses through the Oaks Stud that were on gavelhouse.com and we got talking to the Stud’s racing manager. She said there was a young bloke who worked at the stud that owned Yamato Nadeshiko and was looking to sell so we took a look at her.

“I spoke with Danielle Johnson who had ridden her and she gave me a good report so we discussed it and took the plunge.

“Since the day she got to us we’ve been thankful we said yes as she hasn’t put a foot wrong. Lorraine rides her in work and she came back in this week and said she couldn’t believe how she’d improved since her last run so we were pretty confident of a good performance.”

Mathews is keeping his feet on the ground when assessing future options for the mare but admits he is keen on another win on his home track in the near future.

“We don’t know how far she will go but while she is in this sort of form we want to give her very opportunity,” he said.

“There is a premier meeting coming up at home with a rating 75 2100 metre on the programme which looks quite attractive. She should get a few points for Saturday’s win which would put her in the bottom of that 75 grade so if she gets a start it will be at a nice weight.

“After that who knows but we hope she can keep improving and we will have plenty of fun with her.”