Kilmore trainer, Alicia Macpherson, was rewarded for her patience with Very Suave at the successful NMIT Woodend Cup meeting at Kyneton Park on Saturday.
The five-year-old gelded son of Choisir and Wild Applause, ridden by Matt Pumpa, was a narrow but impressive winner of the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa 0-68 Handicap (1450m).
He defeated the Neil Dyer trained Miss Bec by a neck, with Forever Fight, a short head away, third.
Very Suave was off the scene for over twelve months after failing to beat a runner home at Moonee Valley in March 2010 following a win on Kilmore Cup Day a month earlier.
"He copped a bad virus and then had a stress fracture of his shoulder," Alicia said.
"He'd been lightly raced so we thought it was worth persevering with him," she said.
The gelding is raced by Macpherson, along with the breeders of the gelding, Maldon based, David and Kerrie O'Callaghan, and a number of other stable clients.
The Minstral Park Thoroughbred Racing Stables entertain their clients each year at the Kilmore Cup, and this year Alicia hopes Very Suave at this year's Cup Day can emulate his feat two year's ago.
The gelding has now had three wins and four minor placings from only 14 starts.