One Over All showed how dangerous he can be when there is a cup on the line with his brilliant win in the group 3 Southern Lights Trot at Ascot Park yesterday.
Owner Lex Williams was delighted to be clutching yet another trophy after his 7-year-old ran his rivals off their feet in the 2700m feature.
One Over All was a cup king for trainers Greg Sugars and Jess Tubbs in Victoria, where he raced for three years for Williams and co-owner Mark Goodhew.
The owners' smart planning, returning the squaregaiter back to New Zealand and back into Gavin Smith's stable, has led to One Over All now racking up feature race victories in New Zealand.
"Greg had his top horse, Just Believe, over there and we were up with him, so we thought there wasn't going to be much point,'' Williams said.
"So we decided to bring him home. We thought he was capable of going with the best of them here.
"He proved that when he ran fifth in the Dominion with not such a good run."
One Over All claimed trotting cup victories at Stawell, Maryborough, Ararat, Charlton, Horsham, Geelong and Mildura during his outstanding Australian campaign.
The trotter strode to a front-running victory in the group 3 Gallagher Family Gold Cup at Omakau before repeating the dose yesterday.
"He loves these country cup races and being able to get around the tighter track here is a big help."
One Over All was in front at the winning post the first time after making an excellent beginning for driver Matthew Williamson.
Williamson was thrilled to get another chance to drive the trotter given the horse is trained by a more than capable reinsman in Smith.
"He is not an easy horse to train by any means,'' Williamson said.
``Gavin is doing a great job with him.
"I am grateful that he gave me the drive. He could have come down here and done the job today. So it was good of him to give me another shot."
In winning, One Over All continued the astonishing journey the horse's dam, One Over Kenny, has taken Williams on.
The mare was one of the first two horses Williams and late wife Heather purchased as haress racing owners. She went on to become a racetrack champion and New Zealand's first million-dollar trotting mare.
After leaving eight winners and producing multiple group 1 victories as a broodmare, One Over Kenny is now enjoying a quiet life at Williams' property.
A brilliant beginning also set up One Change's victory in the group 3 Northern Southland Cup.
The pacer galloped away for several strides but was quickly into a pace before settling in third position soon after the start of the feature.
Driver Blair Orange also had One Change in front at the winning post the first time, and from there the Amber Hoffman trained veteran ran to an easy and well-deserved victory.
