"It was pretty amazing really," says Chris Alford of the performance that changed the three-year-old trotting landscape on Tuesday night, when Liberty Stride overcame a mistake to mow down her rivals and produce an unlikely win.

Social media blew up on both sides of the Tasman in the wake of the Shepparton win, when the Phil Williamson trained filly declared herself a frontrunner for the Haras Des Trotteurs Victoria Derby and Breeders Crown to follow.

In the Equine After Care Trotters Handicap, Liberty Stride stepped well from the stand but then broke her gait and Alford told RSN 927's One Out One Back it looked like her Australian debut was sure to disappoint.

"She stepped off good and just panicked when one went whooshing past her real quick and went for a canter," Alford said. "I would say she settled nearly 100 metres off the lead and I thought that's her all done.

"She got down and she started to chase them. I wasn't really going to push her because she lost that much ground, but she just tacked on so easily and still felt like she had plenty of gears left. You don't like to give them too hard a run if possible, but you have still got to try and win even if you lose that ground.

"I thought better just poke up the fence given she's giving them such a start, and then she just felt too good. I thought 'oh well, we better pull her out' and the ease with which she ran past them was just amazing."

Liberty Stride's cleared out and won by 7.1 metres against open-age company, immediately declaring herself one to beat in the Victoria Trotters Derby at Maryborough on Redwood Day.

"She's going to be really hard to beat in the Derby and the Breeders Crown," Alford said.

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