Ruth Shannon made the trip north from Bathurst, where the four-year-old mare is trained by Peter Bullock, a former North West trainer.

First-string stable driver McKayler Barnes handled the reins of the horse in the 1980- metre feature race.

Once the race was underway, Queensland pacer Midloin Blues (Ricky Gordon) hit the lead from the one barrier, creating a gap on the field – only to succumb to several challenges throughout the race.

“She [Ruth Shannon] felt good coming out of the gate,” said Barnes, who placed the horse in the one-by-one after commencing from the nine barrier.

Ruth Shannon was soon pushed to three back on the outside running line, when Armidale pacer Mini Masterpiece made a run three wide around the field to sit up outside race leader Midloin Blues.

“She [Ruth Shannon] was travelling really well, especially at the bell,” Barnes said, “and the one in front of me started to struggle a bit so I went around it.”

As the bell sounded, Barnes sent Ruth Shannon three wide to put pressure on Midloin Blues. “I didn’t really want to make a move – I would have liked to sit there and wait a bit longer,” Barnes said.

Ruth Shannon recorded a 1.9m win over Million Dollar Mac (Lola Weidemann) with Kid Montana (Chris Shepherdson) another 7.4m away in third.

“Around the turn I was a bit worried but when she hit the straight I knew she would keep going,” Barnes said.

“Peter [Bullock] said he really wanted to win this race as the horse is named after his mother who is sick at the moment.

“So the win was pretty good.

“It’s a good feeling to win this race, as the Grima family are a really nice family and make me feel welcome when we come up here.”

Ruth Shannon recorded a mile rate of two minutes and 01.7 seconds.

She paid $6.60 for the win, with Kid Montana starting as the race favourite.