"All favours haven't gone his way. He's had some hard-luck stories but he really deserved to go out so it was nice to put him out on a winning and positive note," she said of the 4-year-old brown gelding who had had a rash of bad luck, such as wide draws.
Latta, who has 116 horses in training, said the horse was probably only six months away from showing his worth.
"He got fifth this year [in the Auckland Cup] and was a long way back so, you know, it'll be nice to aim towards something like this because it's got good dollars."
The horse was different but it was still a sense of deja vu for Johnson who had ridden Chenille across the line first last year for the HB Gold Cup.
"That's great, especially great to win on that horse [Five To Midnight] who was kicking on from the last three starts," said the 26-year-old Auckland jockey who won the opening race on the Stephen Marsh-trained Prince Hareem and the then closed the meeting in style with a a victory on another Marsh-mentored Australian horse, Andado, in the final race.
Five To Midnight was coming off a 2-5-4-3-3 record (grps 2-3) into the listed cup race, with a fifth for the group 1 Barfoot and Thompson Auckland Cup, which, ironically, Chenille had won.
"He's going to progress into a nice horse and he will go out for a good break now," said Johnson after the combo relished the No 1 gate start.
She echoed Latta's sentiments that the mount was still a little immature and weak but six months on would blossom into a beautiful animal.
As a smiling Johnson headed for the scales, HB Racing general manager Andrew Castles remarked she should emulate today's feat at the Auckland Cup.
"Chenille won it last year so he [Castles] was just talking about the path that he [the horse] could probably take in time but that's looking very far ahead," she said of the Kevin Pratt-owned gelding whose career earnings shot over the $200,000 mark.
Early last year Johnson created history in becoming the first woman in the country to win a million-dollar race in the Karaka Million in Ellerslie.
The Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen-trained Wait A Sec with Johnathan Parkes in the saddle for the rating 75, 2500m Stella Artois Stayers race.
The 6-year-old brown gelding came home comfortably 3.3 lengths ahead of Ticket Clipper (Lisa Allpress) in the $22,500 race.
"He just needs a few things to line up with the big competitiors. He's a happy horse at the moment and we'll keep an eye out for something bigger in mind but, at the moment, he'll be running in a fortnight's time," said Lowry as he and fellow Hastings trainer adopt a pick-and-choose attitude Wait A Sec for a return to HB racecourse for a 2100m race.
He said 2500m wasn't a common distance but sometimes horses had to do that to be competitive.
"He did very well. He beat a handy field [of 13]."
He lauded Parkes on a good ride, highlighting Wait A Sec to finish a good third at a premier Awapuni race a fortnight ago but was unlucky.
Lowry and John Bary, of Hastings, who has several horses in the mix, are racing in Taupo today.
Cullen is in Australia with Waipukurau Cup winner Lamborghini as the stayer is scheduled for three races, building up to the $A150,000 Port of Adelaide Cup on May 20.
Hastings-trained Savvy Dreams also is across the ditch in the frame for the group 1 $500,000 Australasian Oaks.
The Savabeel 3-year-old filly wil make her debut in the group 3 A$120,000 ($129,000) Schweppervescence Stakes (1800m) in Adelaide this Saturday.
