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A heady front running ride and some good old-fashioned grit and determination saw nuggety grey mare Maid Of Steel cap off some consistent form with an upset victory at Pukekohe.

Pre-race discussions for the HR Fiskens & Sons Ltd. sponsored open handicap mile centered around local gallopers Promise To Reign and Marciano however they had to take a back seat to the Tony Pike trained runner who dominated the proceedings from go to whoa.

Sent straight to the front by rider Danielle Johnson, Maid Of Steel dictated a steady speed before establishing a break on her rivals at the top of the home straight. Under a strong ride from Johnson the mare rallied gamely as she repelled the challenges of the favoured pair to achieve victory by a head at the winning post.

“She’s a very honest mare who is very hard to run down if she can get a couple of cheap sectionals during the run,” noted Pike after the race.

“She probably just got going a little too keen in her last two runs but when she’s right she’s very hard to catch.”

Pike will now look to step the mare up in distance in this campaign after she showed promise as a stayer last season.

“She’s run well over 2100 metres at Ellerslie in the past so we will take a look at the programme now and see what’s available,” he said.

“She might make a nice Dunstan horse if she can work her way through to that.”

Maid Of Steel ran second to her former stablemate Sacred Master over 2100 metres in a heat of the Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship at Ellerslie on Boxing Day last year.

The final of the 2017 Dunstan Feeds sponsored 2200 metre event will be held once again as one of the traditional features at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.