But on Sunday evening she righted all those wrongs by leading start to finish in the Reliance Bank Pace (1,730 metres).

The Betterthancheddar filly had gone back for another trial following her disappointing return and in that win Hewitt saw enough to know that his runner was capable of getting back on track.

And that's indeed what Voodoo Lou ($3.50) did, hitting the lead early and holding off outside shot Akuma ($61, Steve Turnbull) in the run for home.

Voodoo Lou sat to the inside of Misdemeanor ($1.95 favourite, Amy Rees) in the run for home but when Hewitt asked his filly to turn it up she left the challenger in her dust.

Akuma emerged as the only danger inside the final 200m so Hewitt gave Voodoo Lou a couple of taps to keep her mind on the job.

Hewitt was able to ease up over the final few strides as Voodoo Lou picked up her second career win - her other being last year's Gold Tiara Bronze Consolation.

"She felt super in the warm up and I knew if we could keep the favourite outside her then she'd have a good chance of beating her," Hewitt said.

"She's working up. She's had a couple of trials and the one race start, which she made a mistake in, but I felt comfortable in the run. She always felt like she was pacing well and steering good."

Voodoo Lou was sent back for a compulsory trial after the misstep during her return race.

It wasn't the fastest effort, at a 2:02.5 mile rate, but there was a sense of assurance for Hewitt from the way she ran.

On Sunday evening she kicked it up to another level by winning in a new career best time of 1:56.2.

"I think she would have gone good in that last start but she broke up when I pushed her a bit into the first turn. She's just had a couple of weeks now to prepare for this race, and her trials have been good," Hewitt said.

"She's just a long time off the scene, a good 12 months, but if she holds together she should be in for a good season.

"She had an injury from her Gold Crown consolation race and she needed a good, long spell so hopefully it doesn't come back to haunt her."