Mark Jones is cut from the traditionally tough Canterbury cloth.
Emotions are best kept inside - especially if you're a harness racing trainer who occasionally dabbles in boxing.
But a second group 1 Dominion win with Master Lavros at Addington yesterday just about tipped trainer/driver Jones over the edge, who told Trackside presenter Greg O'Connor he would keep his driving goggles on, just in case the emotions got the better of him.
A stirring of emotions is understandable, though, considering Jones was wondering this time last year whether the 2013 Dominion champion would grace a racetrack again.
A scan last year revealed some general joint issues, but plenty of time at Woodend Beach with Jones' offsider, Regan Todd, has slowly worked the oracle.
''Last year we thought we would never get back to the races,'' Jones said.
''It all goes down to Regan - all the work that he does, really. He lives with the horse and I've just been lucky to drive him five times this season.
''He does all the hard work and I get the easy job. He does the work so he should really have his name beside the horse.''
Todd, to his credit, tried to deflect the praise back to Jones.
''He loads the gun, really, and I just fire the bullets - it's a team effort really,'' Todd said.
''You spend a lot of time on him - you probably put in a couple of hours a day. He's a bit spoilt.''
Jones was able to focus his nerves on the driving, but Todd was agonising as he watched on.
''She's been a pretty hectic week - I was bloody nervous, but it was just more relief than anything,'' he said.
Jones' plan to get to the lead was made slightly easier by Stent breaking at the start, and Jones rolled along nicely in front.
''I just wanted to go down with no excuses. If I trotted the whole way and got beat, I didn't care - it was just pleasing to trot the way.''
A good guide to Master Lavros is his pre-race weight. If he is around 550kg, Jones knows the 7yr-old is ready to go.
''We always watched that and when we weighed him today, he was 550kg. We knew he was short at Kaikoura [on November 2]. Regan came to me and said we need to start working him. I listened to him and left it to him.''
Alley Way once again confirmed his graduation to the open-class ranks with a solid run for second in the hands of Oamaru driver Matthew Williamson.
