AS Peter Trevor-Jones watched Matamua take off with 400 metres to go on Saturday night at the Bathurst Paceway, it did not take long for his calls of "Go, go" to become a triumphant "Yes".
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It was because his four-year-old mare quickly went from a three-wide position to be leading by six metres at the top of the home straight. From there it was all over.
It was an impressive burst of speed which saw Matamua take the lead, but her success in the Dubbo RSL Club Pace (1,730 metres) was just as much about a nice drive from Amy Rees.
While Matamua was lining up for the 34th start of her career, Saturday night was the first time that Rees had steered the mare.
From barrier seven Rees slipped forward to find a sit one out and one back with Matamua ($7), while it was Surf Era ($5.50) who settled in the lead after being able to cross from the two gate.
The tempo was gentle as Surf Era clocked identical splits of 31.2 seconds for the first two quarters of the last mile, but that meant Rees was getting a nice trip with Matamua.
Rees waited until just before the 400m mark before making her move and it caught her rivals out as Matamua stole a march.
The $1.60 favourite Just One More tried to follow, but Matamua pulled further away as she sprinted to her first victory in three months.
The Highview Tommy x Maltese Delight mare won by 9.6m over Just One More, with a further 7.9m back to third placed Snoop Stride ($9.50).
Matamua got home in a 28 seconds final split for a 2:00.4 mile rate.
