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Matt Dixon collected his biggest win as a solo trainer when his much-improved mare Marotiri Molly ran away with the Gr.2 Bramco Granite & Marble Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Trentham on Saturday.

Foxton-based Dixon trained five Group and Listed winners in partnership with David Haworth between 2009 and 2014, but had not scaled those heights since resuming his career on his own in 2019. Marotiri Molly has changed all that.

Dixon has had to be patient with Marotiri Molly, who was an eight-length trial winner as an autumn four-year-old but then finished last when she made her debut in July of 2023.

The Per Incanto mare showed more promising signs when she returned at the age of five, collecting two wins and a second from four starts and beginning her long-awaited rise through the grades.

Marotiri Molly has continued to go from strength to strength since turning six. She resumed with a second at Taupo, then was checked in the straight when finishing ninth at Hastings. After recording three consecutive wins at Hawera, Otaki and Trentham, she stepped up to the big time and proved she belonged with a third behind La Crique and Lux Libertas in last month's Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe.

Marotiri Molly was sent out as an $8 chance in Saturday's $150,000 weight-for-age feature at Trentham and produced a career-defining performance.

Drawn the outside gate in a field of 12, Marotiri Molly and jockey Kate Hercock were awkwardly placed early in the race but soon surged forward to take up a position in second behind the clear leader Town Cryer.

Marotiri Molly was able to produce a second sprint after rounding the turn into the home straight, dashing past Town Cryer and taking command. The chasers tried hard to reel her in, led by Faraglioni and Sharp 'N' Smart, but Marotiri Molly kept herself well out of their reach and won by a length and a half.

From 12 starts, Marotiri Molly has now recorded six wins and three placings. She has earned $227,245 for her owner-breeders Beven and Christine Parlato.

"She was challenging in the early days," Dixon admitted. "This just shows that if you're patient, you can be rewarded.

"She can be a bit hit-and-miss out of the barriers, so I just left the plan up to Kate, and she gave the mare a ten-out-of-ten ride.

"Her run up north last month was huge. It was a big ask, running right-handed for the first time, going on her first big trip away and racing against those good mares at level weights. Her performance that day certainly gave us a lot of confidence.

"She's right up there with the best horses I've trained. She's always shown that level of ability, and I think she should continue to get better from here."

Dixon is in no rush to map out any future plans for his stable star.

"She's not nominated for the Thorndon Mile (Gr.1, 1600m)," he said. "There are a lot of good options coming up through the rest of the season, but we'll just celebrate today's win first and think about future plans later on."

Saturday's win was a poignant result for Hercock, with the sad loss of her partner Danny Champion late last month understandably still very fresh in her mind.

"We jumped and I looked across and there was a lot of speed," she said. "And then, all of a sudden, this gap just popped open. I put it all down to Danny. I just wish I had him at home to share it with.

"This horse has such a big fight. She's like a lion. She's a bit like me – we just keep going. She's so honest and tries so hard.

"She was hard work for a while. She was bloody difficult, to be honest. But she's improved by miles. She'll take a sit and race anywhere you want now.

"Sometimes you go into a race with a game plan and then she'll decide to walk out of the gates, so you've got to have two plans in mind when you ride her. She is what she is. You just go out there and do the best with what you've got, because you know she's going to put everything into it once she turns for home."

Marotiri Molly  became the 32nd individual black-type winner for Little Avondale Stud stallion Per Incanto. Marotiri Molly is one of two winners from two foals to race out of the Al Akbar mare Marotiri Miss, who herself won five races and placed in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) and Gr.3 Metric Mile (1600m).

Faraglioni was a gallant second in Saturday's Challenge Stakes, edging out Sharp 'N' Smart  by a neck. That third placing was a bold return by the former New Zealand Horse of the Year, whose previous appearance was an unplaced finish in last month's Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).