The reinswoman urged the 6yr-old, trained by her grandfather, Ken Ford, along the passing lane to rock punters with a victory at 90-1 odds.
Alhough the win might not have been popular with many punters, Tomlinson (19) and her family received a rousing applause from their local crowd.
The driver’s win was another step in the journey of a horse-loving youngster who was determined to make a career in the sulky.
"Grandad has trained horses for a while now and I have ridden show horses and ponies. Then I got into the Kidz Kartz —so I always wanted to drive."
The enormity of Tomlinson becoming a group 1-winning driver in one of New Zealand’s most prestigious trotting races hit her as soon as she had won.
"It was amazing. I was emotional straight away — as soon we hit the line."
Although the horse’s ability has not been questioned, Amaretto’s recent form has, which resulted in the trotter drifting to such long odds.
Tomlinson credited his turnaround in form to Ford and her mother, Amanda, for working to get the horse to peak in yesterday’s race.
"He hasn’t been 100% and it is great for Granddad and Mum to be able to get him right."
"He just got a perfect trip. The beginning really worked out in our favour and then we just hugged the fence all the way to the finish."
The victory also served as good reward for the huge commitment the driver has made to harness racing.
The Canterbury native is often seen travelling up and down the South Island from her Invercargill base to drive in meetings in her former home province while also competing in Southland.
That is something that is helped by the support of her boss, Ascot Park trainer Murray Brown.
"I am very lucky that I am able to get up here for most Friday meetings and Sunday meetings."
"Murray is really good. He supports me and has given me plenty of drives and has let me come up for the week which is great."
The hot favourite for yesterday’s race, Great Things Happen, was a surprising flop in the event after seemingly having his chance in front.
Second favourite Bordeaux looked the winner at the top of the straight after mastering the favourite, but the race changed complexion greatly in the final 100m.
The Foot Tapper charged into second and Oamaru trotter Monty Python put in a best effort to run third in the group one event.
Earlier on the Addington programme, Southland filly Somejoy put in one of the more remarkable runs of the day to win win race 3.
The Clark Barron trained 3yr-old and driver Blair Orange found nothing but bad luck from their one on the second-row draw in the first 1000m of the race.
Things only got worse for the pair after they had worked away from the makers when Pantastic galloped in front of them.
Despite everything going against the horse, Somejoy picked herself up and boomed around the field to win the race.
"She had to run a really good half wide out on the track to win it," driver Blair Orange said.
"She is just a lovely mare. She has handled everything that has been chucked at it.
"She has never been to the elite level but she has done a really good job."
