The roar as The Diamond One drew away yesterday to win Otago's biggest horse race of the year told half the story.
But the silence that enveloped the crowd at Wingatui just a few seconds later told the rest.
The resounding applause as jockey Rory Hutchings pointed skywards just metres after crossing the line in the White Robe Lodge Handicap was not only for The Diamond One but for trainer Steven Anderton, who died on Tuesday after an accident at his stables near Mosgiel on Monday.
Yet, no sooner had the applause begun, it stopped.
The enormity of the past few days - a leading trainer taken from the Otago racing community in his prime, and his wife Claire and father Hec showing absolute stoicism to prepare The Diamond One in the most tragic of circumstances - washed over the racegoers in the stand.
The applause picked up again as Hutchings brought The Diamond One back into the birdcage, followed by second-placed Chapel Star - trained by Terry Kennedy, the husband of Anderton's twin sister, Debbie.
The win wasn't the only emotion-charged moment of the day.
Landales Gold provided a hint of what was to come when he won the 1400m maiden for the special training partnership of Steven and Claire Anderton, and Sofia Loren almost made it a magical third victory for the day in the last race but lost by a nose.
The Wingatui racing community will never again want a week like the one just gone, but at least The Diamond One provided the best possible ending.
