A winter spell has served Hakkai Maru well, with the now 4yo Mare returning to racing a winner at Ipswich today.
Lining up in the F&M Class 2 event over 1200m, the daughter of Maurice given her nine opponents little chance, leading from the jump to score a convincing 2.3 length win.
Utilising the inside gate, jockey Boris Thornton had Hakkai Maru in the lead and controlling the tempo, leading her nearest rival by half a length as the field raced through the first half of the race.
Held together as they swung for home, when Thornton asked for the effort, Hakkai Maru responded in spades, quickly establishing a length and a half advantage on those chasing her, a margin that steadily grew inside of the final furlong and was finalised when Hakkai Maru cruised past the winning post.