The benefit of raceday experience and a peach of a ride from Danielle Johnson combined to land Chancery a narrow but impressive winner at Ellerslie on Saturday.

The handsome Makfi gelding hails from the family of outstanding racemare Rationale and had looked a promising galloper despite failing to salute the judge in five previous starts prior to Saturday’s victory.

Trainer Moira Murdoch was confident that a win would come once her charge had grasped the concept of settling during the running which was proven to be the case on the weekend.

“I’ve always thought he would be a handy galloper but we made the mistake of asking him to jump and run in his first two starts prior to Christmas,” she explained.

“He got caught wide in those races which got him fired up so we had to go back to the drawing board to try and get him to settle properly. His last three starts had been very good as he had finished off nicely so I thought the step up to the mile would suit him as long as he remembered to relax early on.”

Murdoch was delighted to see Johnson position the gelding beautifully in midfield behind a solid early speed before angling into the clear early in the run home. Johnson asked Chancery for his effort at the 200 metre mark and he responded well to score narrowly in a driving finish from race favourite Sabotage with Society Princess close up in third.

“It was a beautiful ride by Danielle who is really at the top of her game at present,” noted Murdoch.

“Her timing is just so good and she had him in a lovely spot throughout the race. It was a narrow margin in the end but he is only going to get better as he matures as I think his future will definitely see him at his best over a middle distance.”

Murdoch is keen to test her charge in better company with a tilt at the Gr. 3 Higgins Manawatu Classic (2000m) on Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes Day in early April a possibility as long as the tracks stay dry over the next few weeks.