Pat Keegan wasn’t convinced Flaneur would handle the testing conditions at New Plymouth and was delighted to see the five-year-old prove him wrong.
The Hawera trainer and part-owner of our homebred son of Highly Recommended said he had given thought to scratching the chestnut before opting to run and was rewarded with the perfect outcome.
Flaneur settled off the pace and from sixth on the turn he finished doggedly to claim victory, the second of his eight-start career, in the hands of Kevin Kalychurun.
He is the only foal produced by the late Zabeel mare Zaviera, who was successful on two occasions and finished runner-up six times during a brief career.
Zaviera was out of a sister to the G1 Coolmore Classic winner Alverta, whose half-sister Aerobatics was a dual Group 3 winner.