The clock is ticking on stakes winner Perfect Start, who will have another opportunity to add to her black type record this weekend.

The rising seven-year-old, who will go to stud in the spring, will back up in Saturday’s Listed Woods Contracting Taumarunui Gold Cup at Arawa Park after a much-improved performance at her last start.

Perfect Start’s connections were beginning to wonder if they would have to make an earlier than intended retirement call before she finished runner-up at New Plymouth.

“It was 50-50 how much longer she went on until then,” said Wayne Hillis, who trains the daughter of Perfectly Ready with Shaun Kessner.

“She’s taken a while to come up this time and put in a few not so good runs and we didn’t know whether her heart was still in it, but she tried really hard last time and she’s come through the race well.

“She will be getting in foal this year and we’ll probably race her through to January depending on her form.”

Perfect Start is out of Artemesia, who is also the dam of the Hillis-trained Gr.3 Winter Cup winner Art Beat, the multiple stakes placegetter Smartly and handy gallopers Darting and Martini Lass.

“She’s been a very good mare to us, as has the whole family,” Hillis said.

Perfect Start is the dual Group Three winner of the Manawatu Cup and the Trentham Stakes and she has also placed in the Gr.2 Wellington Cup, the Listed Soliloquy Stakes and the Listed Anzac Handicap.