Renowned Queensland country trainer Stuart Kendrick scored the biggest win of his successful career when promising youngster Massuri won the $150,000 QTIS 600 2YO Plate (1200m) at Townsville today.

As well as being the biggest payday for his trainer, Massuri led home a quinella result for the well bred sire Greenwood Lake.

The performance from Massuri was an impressive one considering the filly got into trouble from a riderless horse and had to come from the tail of the field to win.

No sooner was the eventual runner-up He’s So Tempting being hailed the winner than Massuri and Andrew Spinks struck – storming down the outside to score.

Mackay based Stuart Kendrick was not surprisingly a happy man following the big race.

“This is like winning a group race in Sydney – the money is unbelievable.”

Kendrick and connections parted with just $5,500 for Massuri at last year’s Magic Millions QTIS 600 Yearling Sale at the Gold Coast.

“It’s a good story because in the end I couldn’t make it to the sale – I was stuck in Mackay with the cyclone.”

“Paul Maguire, who’s been an owner of mine for a while, was there and he was looking at horses and he rang me and said he’d found a nice Greenwood Lake filly.”

“I had a Greenwood Lake in the stable I’d got through Racetree and Paul bought her for me – I think we got four at the sale,” Kendrick added.

Massuri didn’t make the best start to her racing career – but things have turned around quickly.

“She missed the start badly at her first start and got well back and stayed there – really the run wasn’t as bad as it appeared in paper.”

“Things went more to plan at her second start when she won at Mackay about two weeks later.”

“I was saying to (winning rider) Andrew Spinks before the race that she was a filly who was going forward each run and she’d kept improving all the time.”

Kendrick said the filly was raced by a large group – mostly from Mackay but also a client from New South Wales.

“It’s a big group that race her and obviously they are very happy.”

Massuri is the second winner for a sprint race winning Brief Truce mare Russami – a half sister to the five time stakes winning sprinter Hot to Race.

From just three starts Massuri boasts two wins and earnings of $116,500.

The runner-up He’s So Tempting, also by Greenwood Lake and a half brother to group winners Happy Archer and Femina Fashion, is also a graduate of Racetree.

A $14,000 purchase for Mick Anning, He’s So Tempting has already earned $66,800 after just five runs as a juvenile.

Three quarters of a length separated the duo at the post – while Craiglea Romeo was third, another two and a quarter lengths back as he led home six runners with the Craiglea prefix.

The 2011 Magic Millions QTIS 600 Yearling Sale will be held at the Gold Coast on April 17 and 18.

“I’ll be there – that’s for sure,” Kendrick said of the upcoming Gold Coast auction.