FLY IN, win the TAB May Racing Carnival's feature flat race, fly out.
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Mark Zahra wasn't messing around.
The veteran jockey could only make a brief stopover on Thursday as he raced back to his heavily pregnant wife's side.
Zahra, who steered Le Don De Vie to a strong Sungold Milk Warrnambool Cup victory over the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Heart of Puissance and Mitch Freedman's Moonlight Maid, said his wife Elyse was due to give birth at any moment.
"I've just flown in for today's meeting, there'll be no celebrations," he said.
"I will be back there, just in case."
I've just flown in for today's meeting, there'll be no celebrations.
- Mark Zahra
He said a cup victory - which is worth $150,000 to the winner - was special.
"I know the Grand Annual is a very good event but to win the major race on the flat also feels special," Zahra said. "I have ridden for them for a long time. I get along well with them and if you put in the work it's always good to have success on race day.
"I travelled well. When I asked him at the top of the straight he really put paid to them quite quickly."
Le Don De Vie sat among the front-runners for the majority of the run before carving out a clear path on the top of the home straight.
The five-year-old blazed away from the Daniel Bowman-trained Blenheim Palace with 200 metres to go and posted a solid two-and-three-quarter-length triumph.
"It was a good win. He's a funny horse. In parts of the race I thought it might be going a bit too keen but then he'd come back and relax," Zahra said.
"But when I asked, and I was milking Blenheim Palace as long as I could to get as good a lead in as I could."
Flemington-based co-trainer Sam Freedman, who partners with his father Anthony, said Le Don De Vie had benefitted from a drop in class. "We felt throughout the preparation he needed a softer option," Freedman said. "He's been running in better races than (the Warrnambool Cup) and we felt it was a nice stepping stone."
Freedman said it was his first outing at the Warrnambool May Carnival with a crowd and felt the atmosphere added to the occasion.
"It's a big thrill," he said.
"I've never seen so many people up and about for a carnival like this. I've been to England seen a couple of jumps carnivals over there and it's probably on par with those."
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