KEY POINTS:
Matthew Cropp, a nephew of top jockey Lisa Cropp, had his first winning ride on Seasons Greeting in a restricted open hurdle at Matamata yesterday.
Cropp, 16, smiled as Seasons Greeting leaped clear at the last fence, but he said he was confident of victory much earlier than that.
"I knew I had it won halfway down the back straight, he was travelling so well. A gap opened up coming around the corner and I just took it, and went on from there."
- NZPA
