The 10-hour trip to Omakau was well worth it for Richard Dellaca when he walked away from the Central Otago course with two wins as an owner-breeder.
Dellaca's day at the office was headlined by Jason Rulz's stunning last-to-first win in the group 3 Central Otago Trotting Cup after Ranfurly Rulz picked up the previous race.
Dellaca, a former part-owner of the clothing retailer, Postie Plus, lives in Westport and made the trip over - via Christchurch - for his first visit to Omakau and what turned out to be one of his highlights in racing.
''This is right up there although we travelled a long way,'' Dellaca said.
Jason Rulz and Ranfurly Rulz are related through mare Victoria Rulz, Jason Rulz's half-sister and the dam of Ranfurly Rulz.
Jason Rulz's co-trainer, Greg Hope, said the 5yr-old's run in the New Zealand Cup, in which he finished eighth behind Terror To Love, had taken its toll.
''The New Zealand Cup really knocked him,'' Hope said.
''The run was that hard. He wasn't ready to do what he did. We struggled to get him back, but he's back now.''
Hope is prepared to be patient with the son of Courage Under Fire, and plans to avoid Terror To Love where possible, which means skipping the Northern Southland Cup in a fortnight.
''We just want to really look after him. You would imagine with another year on him, he'd only be better.''
''He's just got a great turn of foot and he's such an honest horse.''
Ricky May, who had a 2013 to remember, wasted no time kicking off 2014 in style, winning the first harness racing black-type race in 2014 by balancing Jason Rulz up for his sensational sprint in the home straight.
''He's just got better with every run,'' May said.
''I was really happy with the way he felt in the running today. It's a tricky track and it was blowing quite hard, so I knew I had to wait for the last bit.''
