The breed of the late Beverley Jones will carry on in style after Miss Alice's last-gasp Canterbury Breeders Stakes win at Riccarton yesterday.
Jones, of Mossburn, was a regular client with the Balcairn stables of John and Karen Parsons.
She died in August 2013 but her husband, Stan, set up Beverley Jones Racing to acknowledge her efforts in establishing the breed.
Stan Jones was on hand yesterday to watch jockey Chris Johnson produce, well, a classic Chris Johnson ride to nab Emerald Queen right on the line of the group 3 1400m race.
John Parsons was thrilled to see the 5yr-old daughter of Pins ensure another generation of the Jones breed would hit the ground in years to come.
''I said to Stan afterwards `it's lovely to win and all that but it sets this mare up as a broodmare','' Parsons said.
''We've had this race targeted for her for a while. She went to Dunedin probably on an unsuitable track last start, but fitness wise, it probably topped her off.''
The fitness and Johnson's ride had to be precise though, as Parsons said the distance needed to suit Miss Alice for her to show her best.
''She's always been a good 1400m horse,'' he said.
''She struggles a bit over the mile [1600m] and has a lack of pace over the 1200m - she just gets out of her ground a bit.''
Johnson has made his name as a rider who can time his dash to perfection and yesterday was no different, although he had some concerns.
''I was making nice ground but I didn't know if I was going to pick the leaders up,'' he said.
''She's finally starting to mature so, hopefully, she's going to have a really good season.''
