Rakero Rebel defied the long odds of $51 to conquer a returning champion and win the Somerset Farms The Make Mine Cullen.

All eyes were on the Emma Stewart-trained Ladies In Red as the champion mare returned after almost a year out due to a leg injury, but Jess Tubbs-trained Rakero Rebel stole the spotlight and continued her good recent form.

Not only did the win capture her greatest prizemoney collect to date but also the first leg of the hotly contested Elizabeth Clarke Mares Triple Crown, which continues with The Angelique on October 28 and concludes with the Queen Of The Pacific on November 4.

Barry Fullwood, part-owner of Rakero Rebel, was thrilled with his mare’s ability to rise to the occasion.

“I thought the race was fantastic,” Fullwood said. “We really didn’t think we could win, there was a star-studded field, (but) she has been racing very nicely.”

The four-year-old led from start to finish to win at her preceding run in the TAB Pace at Kilmore on September 29, and was drawn to advantage in gate one in Saturday night’s The Make Mine Cullen.

Sugars found the back of leader Petillante out of the gates and she took him all the way to the sprint lane, with Rakero Rebel digging deep to fight off the fast-finishing Ladies In Red to claim the lion’s share of the $30,000 prize pool.

“I was travelling that well,” Sugars told TrotsVision. “(I thought) I’m going to be right in the money here, I’m going to run and place and I’ll be rapt with that. I didn’t think in my wildest dreams I’d run past Ladies In Red.”

But that they did, winning by a neck from Ladies In Red, who would have lost few admirers after a tough run in the breeze, while leader Petillante was third.

“There were some good horses in the field,” Fullwood said. “Realistically, if we snuck into a little third in the minors, we would have thought geez she has done a good job.  I don’t know what her sectionals were, but I reckon that last 100 was pretty fast.”

She in fact got home in a 55.07-second last half, capturing eight points in the Elizabeth Clarke Mares Triple Crown with Ladies In Red (five points), Petillante (three points), Dannemora (two points) and Treachery (one point) also registering.

Next up is The Angelique on October 28, when it shares the card with the Gammalite Free For All and Tatlow Stakes, before Victoria’s richest mares’ race, the $150,000 Queen Of The Pacific, concludes the series on November 4.

“She should draw very nicely again,” Fullwood said. “But we will leave (whether to run or not) to Greg and Jess, they know better than we do.”