"Hugh came back in and said he probably hit the front 50m too soon, but I'm not bagging him - I thought it was a brilliant ride.
"If he hadn't got clear when he did he may not have got clear."
To give the filly a look at the course, Hawtin took Silk Pins to Matamata to work on Tuesday morning and raceday rider Jason Waddell was satisfied with the result. Silk Pins has drawn comfortably enough at No.7.
Not so well off in the draw is Manawatu visitor Lady de Chine.
When she won comfortably by nearly two lengths at New Plymouth last start, Lumiere Blue finished third. Luimere Blue was slightly unlucky and should have been second, but he would not have beaten the winner.
He franked that form by scoring stylishly at Te Rapa next start.
That form stacks up well for Lady de Chine, who needs only a little luck early to be right in it.
Rollout The Carpet could not have been more impressive in winning at Te Rapa last time. Matt Cameron was unsuccessful in an early bid for the lead and the filly sat parked outside the leader.
She could have been excused for wilting in the final stages, but instead she picked it up and sprinted clear of the opposition. It showed an extremely good attitude to her task.
Her stablemate Pouri Chimes beat Rollout The Carpet on debut at Trentham when the other filly had previously had a race start.
Pouri Chimes has not drawn quite so ideally, but is in with a real chance.
The landscape around the $45,000 Reid and Harrison Slipper at Matamata changed dramatically yesterday.
The favourite, Australian youngster Ockham's Razor, was scratched early during the afternoon then Peter McKay, trainer of second favourite Travino, declared his horse was only a 10 per cent chance of starting unless the track conditions dried dramatically.
Suddenly, the race took on a new texture.
Locals Irish Rebel, Magic Shaft and Croatia come right into favour assuming the two favourites are out of action.
McKay said he is delighted with the way Travino pulled through his Queensland Magic Millions test and also with the way the colt galloped at Matamata on Tuesday.
"His raceday rider Jason Waddell rode him in the grass track gallop and he came in very satisfied."
This is the first leg of Pick6 and clearly most will want to wait and see what the track conditions are like before finalising selections.
The forecast for today and tomorrow is reasonably good - certainly an improvement on the last 36 hours - which means the conditions could improve reasonably quickly as they generally do at this time of year. Yesterday, the track was rated as slow (9).
If the track improves and Travino runs he should be too good for them, but if not it becomes a real contest.
