Kevin Myers' raid on the jumping features at Riverton almost went perfectly.
The canny Wanganui horseman sent Noess and Krase south for the Great Western Steeplechase and Great Western Hurdles respectively, and Noess duly delivered in the 4000m battle over the larger fences, wearing down Lagerfeld in the straight to win by almost four lengths.
Noess, a son of Generous, was on a short back-up after running third at Wanganui on Tuesday in a 4100m restricted open steeple, but showed no effects of the tight turnaround and the long journey from the North Island.
Jockey Joanne Rathbone said the 8yr-old adapted to the different types of fences well, considering it was only his second career start taking on the big fences and his first start involving natural fences.
''He was just jumping a bit big earlier on - it was his first time over the live jumps - but he jumped well and we were travelling well at the end there,'' Rathbone told Trackside TV.
Rathbone's first victory in the Great Western Steeplechase came in 2006 on No Hero, before winning last year aboard Lautenschlager, and she has won 11 races on the Riverton track since her career began in 2001.
''I always enjoy coming down here. It's great hospitality and all that. It's a great place to come, even though it's a bit cold. I put up with that.''
Earlier in the day, Keep It Tight provided Kayla Veenendaal with her biggest career win in the Great Western Hurdles.
Veenendaal took the Kelly Thompson-trained son of Johar to the lead early in the 2600m feature, and held off the late bid of the Myers-trained Krase despite taking the last two fences awkwardly. Veenendaal's victory aboard Keep It Tight was her sixth career success.
Keep It Tight provided the first half of a race-to-race double for Thompson, with Gunna Fly prevailing in the 1200m maiden.
Gore trainer Andrea Smith earned her first career win with the Lorraine Anderton-bred To The Max in the maiden 1600m. Smith, who has four horses in work, won at her 26th attempt, although she had recorded seven placings since taking out an owner-trainer licence in the 2011-12 season.
