Father and son trainers Ross and Chris Wilson had the pacer, known to his fans as "The Beast From The East", finely tuned to produce a dream result following a nightmare year on the track.
Robyn's Playboy won his third Tuapeka feature in his first start since returning from Australia, where he was meant to have seen out his racing days.
For reasons not completely known, the pacer couldn’t show his true worth in Australia but he confirmed he had lost none of his class when producing arguably his biggest Tuapeka Cup win for driver Craig Ferguson.
"That was brilliant.
"It is good to have a nice horse again," Ross Wilson said.
"We haven’t had much luck this year.
"This is what it is all about. It’s not about the money; it is about racing nice horses and getting results."
Robyn's Playboy had shown the Wilsons in his work that he was ready to return on a good note. But the horse’s form in Australia added a question mark over whether he could recapture his best.
When the 6yr-old cleared out to beat a field that had had the benefit of plenty of recent racing, he cleared up any doubts.
"It is so good to have him back.
"He went super today. We are real, real happy," Chris Wilson said.
"He really blossomed the last two or three weeks. His work has been super.
"He tries to kick you and bite you and squash you and all those things that he used to do when he was at his best.
"It is just good to have him back and hopefully he can keep pushing on from here because it was a super win.
"Craig said he did it pretty well."
Robyn's Playboy made a brilliant beginning from his 15m handicap with Ferguson immediately able to secure a perfect run in the trail.
Adding even more to an already remarkable comeback, the pacer made that standing start flyer in his first attempt from behind the tapes in a race or trial since last year’s New Zealand Cup.
Robyn’s Playboy is raced by Ross Wilson and his three children — Chris and Rob Wilson and Monica McLeod — alongside their partners, as well as his wife Yvonne.
