Two and a half years is a long time for a racehorse to be out of sight. Wattle Hill made it look like a short break at Winton on Sunday.

The five-year-old trotting mare, trained at Balfour in Northern Southland by Robert Wilson, won at her first race appearance in 30 months, Harness Racing New Zealand reported. Getting a horse to win first-up after that long away is something few trainers ever manage, the industry body's Jonny Turner wrote.

Wilson was not making much of it. "I suppose it is (a rare feat)," he told Turner, saying he had not really thought about it that way. These days the stable takes things as they come, he said, and it was simply good to have the mare racing again.

Her absence began for a sound reason and then dragged on. Wilson said Wattle Hill had "a bit of an issue" of her own, and that he then struck a health problem himself, which pushed her down the list.

Southland's weather did the rest. The region has come through its wettest winter since 1980 and a sodden spring, and Wilson said the amount of rain had not helped, because his property needs to be reasonably dry before horses can be worked on it.

On Sunday the mare was driven by Nathan Williamson, who took her to the front with 1700 metres still to run, the move that set up the win. She trotted without putting a foot wrong, HRNZ said, which was more than could be said for several of her rivals. Trotters that break into a gallop lose ground and usually their chance, so manners count for a lot in these races.

The post-race verdict was that she had tired near the finish, as a horse that long between runs is entitled to do, and that the outing should improve her fitness.

That matters because there is not long to wait for the next one. The win qualified Wattle Hill for a Gold Chip Final back at Winton seven days later, on Sunday 15 November, and Wilson intends to line her up.

The mare comes from a family that has served Wilson well. She is a half-sister to Willangus Lad and De Vito, both useful winners for the stable. His partners in the mare are Kevin Schmack, Ross McCutcheon, Murray McKeown, Greg Davis and Peter Scully.

HRNZ said 2026 had been a fairly quiet year for Wilson compared with recent seasons, which made getting a member of his team back to the track, and to the winner's circle, welcome.

Neither HRNZ's report nor the Southland Tribune, which also carried the story, gave the winning margin or time.

The Gold Chip Final is part of next Sunday's Winton programme. Fields and start times are published on the HRNZ website, hrnz.co.nz, in the days before the meeting.