Trainer Kevin Smith had tested the promising bitch over 400m last start at The Gardens but after Rival Sophie finished fourth there he opted for the shorter distance at the Dubbo track.

It worked a treat as Rival Sophie took advantage of $1.30 favourite Little Zig Zag's interrupted run to score a fourth win from 16 starts.

"She's not a 400m dog, she jkust like the shorter ones," Smith said.

"I was pretty confident (coming here) but I thought if she drew a box, the one or the two, she would have been right, but she jumped out alright from the seven."

Going from box seven was a question mark heading into the event but Rival Sophie ($12.20) shot out of the boxes in the Wayne Mallison Painting 1-3 Wins Stakes (318m).

That helped her avoid some early contact as the Paul Braddon-trained Little Zig Zag and Len Haaring's Arrogant Stella ($5.40) jostled for second place.

The pair made contact around when tracking up around the outside approaching the home straight and dropped back but Inner Cargo ($32.10) loomed briefly on the rails to threaten the leader.

It was no real danger though as Rival Sophie kicked clear and extended her lead in the straight.

She went on to win by a convincing three lengths from Arctic Villain ($14.60) while Little Zig Zag ran home well for third.

"She's not a bad little bitch," Smith said, impressed with the win.

The trip was a long one for Smith, who hails from the Muswellbrook region, but the win and the double-digit odds made it a wholly worthwhile one for the trainer.

The Braddons didn't have to wait too long to score a win at Dawson Park, with Meeka's Girl saluting just two races later.

Meeka's Girl, trained by Paul's wife Pamela, upstaged hometown hope and $1.70 favourite Madeline Keeping in the Happy Birthday Jason Hyde Stakes (400m).

Meeka's Girl went into the race in fine form, having missed a placing just once in her past six starts but Madeline Keeping's recent record was even more impressive.

The Charmaine Roberts-trained bitch and former Ladbrokes Challenge winner at Lismore returned to her home track having finished no worse than third in her previous eight starts.

While that streak was extended to nice races, she was upstaged by Braddons' hope on Friday.

The race was a battle between two from almost the first second as Meeka's Girl and Madeline Keeping jumped from boxes two and four respectively and immediately went stride-for-stride at the front of the field.

But Meeka's Girl stayed in front and went on to win by half a length.