"I had a feeling that the further this horse went, the better he would be," he said. "I've been patching him up for the last two weeks and I honestly thought he wouldn't be here.
"I couldn't get a jockey, as I asked several to ride him, and in the end, I thought 'I know someone who's won on him', so that's why the boy was on him. He's had five rides for me now and won three of them, so I'm rapt for him."
Despite the issues they had experienced, Pomare, who co-owns Ocean Billy with his wife Suzi and Rotorua stalwart Peter Ludgate, had been quietly confident of a good run.
"I'm rapt for me old partner Peter Ludgate, and I hope his heart handles all this, while my wife Suzi will be over the moon," he said.
"I felt this was something he was capable of, and with the money he was paying [$23], I did think he was better than that.
"He knocked a fetlock joint before the Counties Cup [Group 3, 2100m], and in the last three weeks, he has had issues with mud rash. We've been working overtime to get him here.
"I know how good he is, although it's hard telling people, but [yesterday] he showed them all."
Jones, in the first full season of his apprenticeship and with just 134 race rides under his belt, was struggling to take in what he had achieved.
"The last win he had was when I rode him, so it's just cool to get the ride and to keep that strike rate up on him," he said.
●Underrated mare Showoroses made full use of an electric beginning from a wide barrier to lead her rivals a merry dance in winning the feature Group 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m).
Despite being chased gamely by race favourite Supera and Supreme Heights, Showoroses never looked like flinching as she held on.
Trainer Joanne Surgenor was taking some deep breaths to help calm herself as she waited for her charge to return to the birdcage.
"That was unbelievable and an excellent ride from [jockey] Vinnie [Colgan]," she said.
●Veteran rider Chris Johnson is just one win away from setting a record for most wins by a jockey in New Zealand after securing success aboard Points Score in Invercargill today.
Johnson joins record holder David Walsh on 2451 New Zealand victories and needs one more win to establish a benchmark.
- NZ Racing Desk