Thought I was going to look like an idiot!

I WAS worried when I took off around the bend as I thought I was going to look like an idiot halfway up the straight!

That was the thought going through Rikki Cernovskis' mind as Donnie Gal broke clear of the pack at Club Menangle yesterday.

After racing in the 'death seat', Donnie Gal strode away from the field before her margin began to shrink 100 metres from the finish.

"I did start to worry as she was getting keen to pull up," Cernovskis said. "I don't know if she was waiting on the others or getting tired, but it all worked out.

"The Menangle straight is a lot longer than what I am used to in Canberra that's for sure."

Cernovskis didn't have to worry too much as Donnie Gal scored by four metres from Speaks Volume, with Princess Du Fer a head away third.

"I had some confidence before the race as she's been going well," Cernovskis said. "She missed a bit of work before her previous start, but before that she'd been among the placings at her last three starts.

"I felt like she deserved that win."

Covering the mile in 1:57.6, Donnie Gal broke a 30-month drought from the winners' circle for Cernovskis, with her previous victory coming via Ellas Reason in Canberra on February 12, 2023.

"It's been a while since I trained a winner, so it is nice to get another one," Cernovskis said. "I only train a couple at a time and she's the only one I have racing at the moment."