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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Gayna Williams can sit down and plot the path for Zoo Station to tackle next month’s Newhaven Park Central Districts Country Championships after an impressive first-up TAB Highway win.

The lightly raced five-year-old has been targeted at the $150,000 country feature at Mudgee on February 27 for quite some time and her Rosehill victory on Saturday saw the mare graduate out of Highway grade.

Williams feared the 1200m would be too slick for Zoo Station first-up but is rapt to walk away with the win and the knowledge the Country Championships plan is on track.

“It’s tough going, it’s hard to win a race anywhere and we were hoping it wasn’t going to be too short but I think the wet track helped her there,’’ Williams said.

“(The Country Championships) has been a plan for quite a while. Last preparation we were planning for it, and we just had to get her going at the right time and leave a bit of time up our sleeve.

“We had to consider whether she won or not and where she would head because she’s out of the Highways now. We’ll try to keep her as fresh as we can.

“We’ve been given leeway with time so we can tick her over from here.”

She said it's likely Zoo Station will race again before heading to Mudgee given the race is seven weeks away.

Zoo Station wins at Rosehill on January 8

Williams praised the ride, and the lead up work, by jockey Anthony Cavallo who made the trip to Sydney to continue his association this preparation with the mare following her recent trial win.

The Bathurst trainer said Cavallo has been going above and beyond to work for the stable and thought his confident ride was spot on as the mare took her record to four wins from nine starts.

“He’s been coming over riding some work, he lives just outside of Mudgee so it’s been much appreciated and I’m thrilled for him to get the win,’’ she said.

It seems Cavallo’s work has paid off with Zoo Station as he revealed after the race there had been plenty of focus on her barrier manners.

After breaking with the field, Zoo Station settled midfield on the fence before Cavallo eased off the rail on the turn and she ran out a three-quarter length winner over Golden Point with Unpredicted a further length away in third.

“I was pretty well trucking. She has a tendency to miss it so we’ve been working on it at home,’’ Cavallo said.

“She got out well in the trial the other week and as long as we got out nicely we were a chance.”

Williams has had mixed Country Championships fortunes over the seven years since the concept was introduced. Healing Hands won the Central Districts race in 2020 and she’s finished second with Galaxy Warrior (2016), Noel’s Gift twice in 2018 and 2019 while Healing Hands ran third last year.

Zoo Station heads her team in 2022 while four-year-olds Tags and Silverdeel will be given their chance to make the field for the 1400m Mudgee event.

All the results and replays from Saturday's Rosehill meeting