there was a splash of class among a six-horse field for an $11,000 Rating 82 at Ruakaka this afternoon as Group Two winner Hello It’s Me cruised to a smooth first-up win.

The daughter of Darci Brahma lined up for her first start since she captured the 2000-metre Royal Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

The spitroast.com 1200 was her first time running over a distance shorter than 1400 metres, but despite the small field there was a strong pace throughout.

Rider Cameron Lammas had Hello It’s Me just behind the leaders in fourth spot, then moved to the outside in the straight and quickened stylishly to win by a length and a half.

Hello It’s Me holds a nomination for the Gr. 1 Livamol Classic at Hastings on October 6, for which she is now rated a $21 chance.

“She’s a very classy mare,” said Chris Gibbs, who trains in partnership with Michelle Bradley. “She’s in the Livamol and I’d love to have a go at that.

“She was a bit chubby today and we asked Cameron not to knock her around too much. There was plenty of pace in the race, which really suited us, and she finished it off well.

“She’s had a few niggling issues, so we wanted to get today out of the way before we made any plans. We’ll make sure she’s come out of it well, then talk to Cameron and the owners and work out what path we take.”

Hello It’s Me was a $28,000 yearling purchase by the now Singapore-based Donna Logan, who shares ownership with Gary Hannam and Shayne Heape’s GS Bloodstock, plus four others. The four-year-old has now won three of her six starts and more than $76,000 in prize-money.

The classy mare clocked 1:11.32 for the 1200 metres on a Dead5 track, which was quickly upgraded to a Dead4.

"The further, the better for this mare," Lammas said. "She did it easily today and feels a lot stronger this time in."

The win provided the perfect start to the day for the powerhouse local stable, which will line up a total of 29 runners across today’s nine-race programme.

[INFORMANT]