Canberra trainer Nick Olive received a negative COVID test result just in time to watch Proud Mia hold on for a game win in the Federal Handicap (1000m) at Queanbeyan on Tuesday.
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Moments after Olive arrived at the NSW track, Proud Mia jumped sweetly under Shaun Guymer and held off talented duo Washington Towers and Delacour for a gutsy return to the winner's circle, after an exasperating campaign which included two unplaced efforts in Queensland.
"She's had a bloody frustrating prep, nothing has gone right for this mare," Olive said.
"Everything went wrong in Queensland, she came back here, we needed to fix a few things with her.
"I thought she ran a super race at Wagga the other day. She didn't have much luck but wasn't beaten far.
"It was a decent race [at Queanbeyan], the horses in there go pretty good, I didn't know she was going to win for sure but I knew she was back to her best."
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Keith Dryden's top weight Eve's Miss was scratched at the barriers taking plenty of early speed out of the race, and Guymer took full advantage.
"She's best when she leads, when she finds the fence and leads she's very hard to run down," Olive said.
"Now she's in her rhythm we'll just try and find another race to place her where she can win. There's an open at Canberra on the eighth of October so she can go to that."
Olive missed the return of talented filly Nephradiva in the race prior as he awaited his test result.
The three-year-old was posted wide throughout and ran third in the Class 1 Handicap (1000m) behind the Doug Gorrel-trained Brothers Of Antrim and Hey Dugee, having been scratched at the barriers at this track earlier this month.
"I thought her run was excellent, she came from the outside gate, she was three deep, she went too hard," Olive said.
"She had to do a lot of work and she was brave in the finish, I was happy with her run.
"I wish she got a softer run in transit but she didn't and I was fairly pleased with the way she stuck on."