Emotions overflow as maligned mare becomes a stakes winner

There was a jockey who was the man of the moment at Doomben, but it was a sometimes maligned mare who brought tears to the eyes as emotions overflowed with the drought-breaking stakes triumph of Midnight In Tokyo.

The Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained Midnight In Tokyo had 19 previous cracks at winning a stakes race with no joy, but jockey Ryan Maloney was the magic man in the $160,000 Listed Tatt's Classic (1200m).

It was the third plank of a fabulous four-timer at Doomben for Maloney who had Midnight In Tokyo sitting pretty and looking like the winner a long way out, doing the job easily in the end.

The Archibalds' man in Queensland, Todd Pollard, was overcome with emotion as all the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into making the mare a takes winner finally paid dividends.

Pollard, who will one day make a fine trainer in his own right, fought back tears post-race and you could tell how much it meant to the whole team as Midnight In Tokyo won her first race in 18 months.

Maloney has in the past battled with his weight but he is now fighting fit and there is no-one in the Sunshine State riding in better form.

After scoring on Midnight In Tokyo he quipped there was a secret to the success that had seen him in tip-top shape and leading the Brisbane jockeys' title.

But, in all seriousness, Maloney said he couldn't make much credit for Midnight In Tokyo's triumph.

"The only thing I eat these days is what I catch when I go fishing, so I'm obviously not eating much," Maloney chuckled.

"I didn't expect this mare to be sitting outside the leader but when she began like she did, we found our spot very easily.

"We controlled it and as soon as we released the brakes in the straight, I was basically just a passenger."

Maloney, a former Victorian who saw the light and moved north in 2018, won the Brisbane riding premiership in 2020-21 and it would be a brave person who would bet against him winning another title this season.