Rockabyebaby bounced back in style with a come-from-behind victory against a quality field in today’s $30,000 Whangarei Love It Here 1400 at Ruakaka today.

The locally trained Rip Van Winkle mare is a course specialist, having had nine starts at her home track for four wins and four placings. The only unplaced performance was two weeks ago, when she finished seventh behind her high-class stablemate Danzdanzdance.

Today was a different story as rider Sam Collett capitalised on a gap along the rails and Rockabyebaby dived through, dashing to victory by a length.

“I was sweating on a run,” said Collett, who also won on another local favourite, Prom Queen, earlier in the afternoon. “Once I got her through, off she went.”

Bred and raced by Whakanui Stud, Rockabyebaby has now had 15 starts for five wins, four placings and more than $86,000 in prize-money. She is trained by Chris Gibbs and Michelle Bradley.

There was an eye-catching performance from the runner-up, Yearn. Making her first start since March, the five-race winner came with a big run down the outside. She is being aimed at the Gr. 3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes on October 13.

“That was a terrific starting-off run,” Matamata trainer Karen Fursdon enthused.

The winner’s stablemates Not Usual Heart, Rocette Lady and Richie McHorse were third, fourth and fifth, with the New Zealand Derby runner-up Mongolianconqueror sixth.