In a riding career of almost 3300 wins none has meant more to evergreen jockey Robert Thompson than today's victory in the $500,000 JP Morgan AJC Oaks at Randwick.
Thompson, closing on 50 years of age as well as the all-time Australian riding record, rated today's classic win on the country filly Heavenly Glow as the most significant of his long career that began with his first win at Wyong in 1973.
The reasons are numerous, but none more than the 28-year friendship he has enjoyed with Ross Stitt, the veteran Taree trainer who part-owns Heavenly Glow and nurtured her through her early career.
Stitt, who has won more than 1000 races in 47 years as a trainer, bought Heavenly Glow as a yearling for $10,000 from a Gold Coast sale and made the sacrifice to pass her on to the Allan Denham stable early this year when it was evident she had classic potential.
She went to Denham with a stipulation from Stitt that Thompson continued as her rider.
"The long association I have had with Ross Stitt makes this by far the best win of my career," Thomspon said after Heavenly Glow wore down the NZ Oaks winner Boundless to score by a half neck.
"I have ridden hundreds of winners fore Ross and it's great to think we now have won an Oaks together.
"I knew from the time I first rode her that she was going to be a good fily and she has just kept improving.
"Ross did all the early work with her and Allan has done a marvellous job since she joined his stable."
Thompson completed the Arrowfield-Stakes-
AJC Oaks 
double on Heavenly Glow, his first Group One wins in 13 years while the filly becoming the sixth since 1982 to win both races.
Thompson is also closing on what will be his greatest acheivement by becoming the most successful jockey in Australian racing history, today's win leaving him only 29 behind the record 3322 winners ridden by the late Jack Thompson.
Thompson said the record had not been a goal but admitted he is thinking more about the enormity of the achievement now it is within reach.
"Jack Thompson heleped me a lot in my early days as a jockey and as his record gets closer I am starting to think more about it," Thompson said,
Cessnock-based Thompson has always preferred the country life to the city lights and said he had no intention of retiring as long as he keeps enjoying his riding.
"When I was injured a couple of years ago I thought it would be hard to come back," he said.
"It was Ross Stitt who got me going again when I teamed up with his good stayer Precise Timing so I that is another reason why this win is so important to me."
Stitt, who races Heavenly Glow with three partners from Taree and Cessnock, said the filly would stay in training for the Brisbane carnival.
"She will go up for the Queensland Oaks and probably wil need a run in between," Stitt said.
"She will stay with Allan Denham, he's done the work to get her this far and deserves to keep her."
Allan Denham, who took a back seat after the win, emulated his father Jack Denham as he trained trained Triscay to win the
AJC Oaks in 1991.
Stitt said he selected Denham to train Heavenly Glow in February when he decided she had a bigger future in the city.
"Allan sent me a horse about nine years ago that turned out to be a handy winner so I felt I owed him somehting in return," Stitt said.
"She had no future in the country because she was going to be hard to place under big weights.
"She also isn't a good traveller in the float so we thought it best to send her to a city stable."
Thompson rode Heavenyly Glow confidently, allowing her to work into the race three wide from the 1200m and had her posiitioned to chase down the leaders from the top of the straight.
Kiwi filly Boundless could be rated unlucky to be beaten by a narrow margin as she had to work in the early stages to go forward into second place and then had the task of taking the field up to tearaway leader All Black Miss from the 600m.
Heavenly Glow, now known for the quick of turn of foot she can produce at the end of her races, quickly raced to Boundless inside the 200m and just had enough momentum to hold off the late rally by the Kiwi filly.
Boundless will now return to New Zealand for a spell while third placegetter Galileo's Daughter is set to also go to Queensland for the QTC Oaks.
The big disappointment was the Victorian filly Zarita, who was under pressure 800m from home and failled to produce the form that had seen her win her previous four starts in Melbourne and Adelaide.
