So when you do get a galloper good enough to take to town it means it's already a bit special. And when you win a race, it's a red letter day.

What could possibly make it better?

Well, how about if your wife owns the horse in question, and your apprentice jockey son boots it home.

No wonder Pakenham-based handler Frankie Stockdale, a former top jumps jockey, was whooping with delight when his son Brandon brought Unique Lovely, the horse his wife Julie owns, fast and late down the outside to win the $100,000 Bidfood Handicap at Moonee Valley early on Saturday afternoon.

It was his first city winner as a trainer, and the fact that he and his son could team up for their first ever metropolitan success together made it, as he admitted, one of the best days of his career.

The filly, a last-start winner at Swan Hill, made the jump to city class with ease and had the entire Stockdale clan purring with delight as she saluted at $5.50.

Stockdale senior generally specialises in buying young stock, getting them fit for the Breeze Up sales (when young horses are galloped in "races" before prospective buyers before being sold) and then retailing them at a profit.

Unique Lovely was destined to follow the same path until fate intervened: she was injured when the Breeze Ups were on and couldn't show her mettle, so the family was forced to keep the daughter of Bel Esprit themselves.

"It's bloody magic ??? It's magnificent, really good. She's always shown plenty of ability. She was a breeze up horse, but got crook and we didn't get the chance to sell her. I always knew she could gallop, and it worked out magnificently," said Stockdale senior, who was at pains to talk up his son's part in the victory.

Brandon stayed cool and raced at the rear of the 12-strong field before producing his mount late in the race to gun down long-time leader Miss Vesper, ridden by Ben Melham.

"He rides good. I can't believe he doesn't get more chances. He got back, relaxed, got home in a short 1000m race, he knows what he has got underneath him, he knows what the feel is, he gets the job done. He proved that today," said the rider's trainer father.

"This should hopefully kick him on a bit. I don't worry about my business, I just worry about the young bloke. We just whack away with a few of our own."

Stockdale junior added: "We have been limited with the type we have got, but we have a good one now.

"It's good to win anywhere, but for the old man it's great. He's only battling away at home, and I think the prizemoney is about $70,000 for the winner."