Alford, from Christchurch, said he was given some stick by his friends that he should salute if he was able to land his first win and he did not let them down.
"It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, but I thought I would chuck one up.
"I was getting a bit of stick from a few people saying you better do a salute if you win."
Alford’s journey to the winner’s circle was a slightly unusual one by harness racing standards.
Despite sharing the same surname as one of Australasia’s greatest drivers, Chris Alford, he was not born and bred to a life in harness racing like so many others.
"I only just got my licence to drive and had my trial licence for about two years.
"I was just a bit of a causal pub punter when having a beer with a few mates that were into races and I just got into it from there.
"I had my first stable visit with Peter Robinson and just fell in love with the game."
Alford credited Stuart for supporting his step from trials driving to competing on raceday.
"He has been a big help. He has been pretty supportive, so it was good to get the first one for him, especially."
Alford said he planned to keep his feet firmly on the ground following his first win.
Divinia Bellezza triumphed on what by then was a heavy track. Alford conserved his mare’s energy by giving her a perfect run in the one-one throughout and waited to ask her for a full effort once she was balanced in the home straight.
Divinia Bellezza scored by a length over Bush Man and Sounds Bettor.
Zadaka followed in the hoofsteps of Roxburgh Cup winner Queen Bee Bardon by winning yesterday’s Cromwell Cup. Queen Bee Bardon was a New Zealand Cup contender earlier this season and relished the drop in company in Thursday’s feature.
Zadaka finished 15th in the New Zealand Cup and also looked to appreciate the step back in company yesterday.
Driver John Dunn had the 6yr-old, trained by his father, Robert, in front before the field had gone a full lap in the 2600m feature and won by 2-lengths.
