The horse produced a booming finish in the $25,000 feature for rider Gosen Jogoo.
Instead of cheering Shaara home from the Omakau grandstand, Gordon was huddled around a cell phone with other southern trainers in Greymouth.
"I am over in Greymouth with The Gordonian having a crack at the Greymouth Cup," she said.
The win demonstrated the complete transformation Shaara has made as a racehorse. He was previously a speed machine that bounced on the pace and just ran as fast as he could. But the new and improved Shaara can settle off the speed and save his energy to produce a wicked sprint.
"He used to just jump and run. But I found with him you just let him do what he wants to do.
"You can’t fight. If you try to ride a race on him he fights you and doesn’t like it."
Gordon credits rider Gosen Jogoo for helping transform Shaara’s racing manners.
"Goosen is a very kind rider and gets on with him very well.
"It is very hard, especially when you get up in the grades, to jump and run."
Another key to the horse’s brilliant recent form was keeping him to 1400m, Gordon said.
The only thing she would change about yesterday’s win would be the overhead conditions.
Rain was pouring down at the Omakau course during the cup, something Gordon wished was happening on the West Coast to aid The Gordonian’s chances in the Greymouth Cup tomorrow. The trainer will also line up Shakti in Wednesday’s Hokitika Cup.
Shaara’s win gave Jogoo a winning double after his front-running win on Linedanceking in race 3.
The Brian and Shane Anderton-trained Heberite held on tenaciously for a narrow victory with the help of a Christmas present.
A flashy set of pink blinkers were added to the horse’s gear and they had an immediate winning effect.
The horse disappointed in his first career run at Tapanui on Chrismas Eve. Shane Anderton put the below-par run down to Heberite becoming unsettled in the barriers when he was positioned next to a horse that would not load.
Heberite’s win under stable rider Shankar Muniandy has earned the horse another trip to Gore, but this time for a much bigger target.
"He will run in the Gore Guineas after that. We have thought a bit of him for a while now."
The toughness of yesterday’s win suggests Heberite would not shirk the challenge of stepping up to listed-race company. The 3yr-old was forced to work hard when three wide for the first 600m yesterday before finding the lead and producing a tough win.
The Ellis Winsloe-trained Accidental Offside proved two points with his front-running win for rider Samantha Wynne in race 4.
The galloper made it two wins from two starts on the track, proving the theory that backing horses with good form on particular tracks pays off.
Accidental Offside also proved he was back to his best with his all-the-way win.
Winsloe and Wynne also combined successfully in race 9 with Knutquacker, which gave Wynne a winning treble as she also rode Shanzino to win race 7.
