McKay likes the 3yr old filly a lot, but it has been far from a smooth path to the daughter of Battle Paint's victory over 1400m.
''She's been a very difficult horse but she's been worth every aching hour,'' McKay said.
''She's got all the ability in the world - she's a really good horse, but she needs another year. She's a big, rangy filly and I rate her highly.''
McKay had been expecting a bold debut after a trial win on Sunday, but the filly's tendency to knock off when she got in front at the trial prompted McKay to pass on vital instructions to jockey Lee Callaway.
''She won that [trial] pretty impressively but when she got to the front she eased up, so I said to him `don't get to the front too soon'.''
Cromwell was a happy hunting ground for Southland trainers yesterday as five of the seven races went to horses trained south of Gore.
Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler carried on from his double success at Omakau, adding two wins yesterday through Life's In A Spin and The Energizer.
The latter was a ''freebie'' of sorts for Otago Racing Club chief executive Andre Klein when he went looking for horses for the Trodmore Partnership in the middle of last year.
''I went up and saw John Sargent and he gave us a choice of three horses,'' Klein said.
''We bought all three and that was the one he threw in. He said `you can have this one'.''
The son of Shinko King had shown early promise, lining up in a Wanganui Guineas, but his form had dipped before he was sold.
''They had been running him on the wet over 2000m and Kelvin got hold him and thought he was an up and go horse and probably a sprinter,'' Klein said.
Klein and his syndicate members might have needed to recharge their batteries after The Energizer failed at Omakau on Friday, but Tyler decided a gear change would help.
''He bucked going down to the start and that probably undone him so we put blinkers on today and that seemed to help him,'' Tyler said.
''A bit more give in the track might have helped too and a smaller field.''
Wyndham trainer John McKay trained a quinella in race 2, courtesy of winner Single Spice and runner up All Things Nice _ although it was not quite the perfect result.
''The other one [All Things Nice] I own myself so it was the wrong way around!''Single Spice is owned by Rodd and Denise McKenzie of Wyndham, and McKay said the firm tracks had helped the son of Bachelor Duke.
''We gave him a couple of runs as a 2yr old but he was a bit green and on wet tracks but he's come back this year on top of the ground and he's a bigger, stronger horse,'' McKay said.
