Accomplished Brisbane horse trainer, Desleigh Forster gave her home town of Ilfracombe plenty of reasons to be proud, when Apache Chase ran to victory in the Kingsford Smith Cup, giving her first maiden group 1 winner on Saturday.
Desleigh, a metropolitan trainer for 15 years, has trained Apache Chase since day dot, and took him on as a yearling.
"He means the world to me now," Desleigh said.
She said that it feels good to get the group one win, as she has been placed second a number times in big races, during the Brisbane Racing Carnival.
Apache Chase jumped from barrier four, and led the field on a merry dance over the 1300m trip, with jockey Jim Byrne taking the 'catch me if you can' approach.
"All I said to J Byrne was 'whatever you do, don't go slow, use his best attribute and use his gate, send him and get to the three (furlong) and let him go," a tearful Desleigh said in the post race interview.
"I thought then if they are good enough to run past him, good on them, but if they're not - too bad.
Apache Chase is one of 16 horses in Desleigh's stable, and she said he has pulled up really well after the race.
He is now entered for the Stradbroke Handicap where he will carry 54.5 kilograms and again has Jim Byrne on his back.
And while Desleigh was putting Ilfracombe on the map being interviewed by Sky Racing, her father Henry, also a horse trainer, was on the winning end of a maiden race in Tambo with his stable star Rebel Wowzer.
Mr Forster said he and wife Bev were cheering for Desleigh and are very proud of her her racing achievements.
"What she has done - she has done on her own," he said.
"We knew she had something with horses by the time she was three, as she would lock her pony in the yard and climb on."