Trainer David Hill’s little warrior Flax showed he is a horse for the big occasion when he scored a sensational victory in the $200,000 Group 3 Jumbo Jet Trophy on Sunday.

The diminutive South African-bred gelding, with jockey Ivaldo Santana astride for the first time, produced a mighty effort to come from near the rear of the 14-horse field to beat Daniel (Saifudin Ismail) by a head with Knight’s Command (Zuriman Zulkifli) upstaging some of the bigger names to finish third, a further length-and-a-quarter back.

Troubled by suspensory problems throughout his career which has forced Hill to send him for extended spells to rest and recover, this was just Flax’s second start of 2014 after a recurrence of his health issues in March led to another enforced spell..

Unraced for 161 days since that third-placed effort in a Kranji Stakes A race (1400m) on March 30, there was little indication that the Silvano eight-year-old galloper was in the physical condition necessary to take on some of his rivals, who were all younger and in better form, which included star four-year-olds Daniel and Goodman (Corey Brown) and Group winners Wild Geese (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) and Stepitup (David Flores).

But to borrow the oft-used phrase that form is temporary while class is permanent, Flax (completely friendless at odds of $75) turned the tables on his stunned opponents.

“He’s such a great little horse, what a fighter he is,” said Hill, who clearly has a soft spot for the pint-sized star after he delivered a victory in the Group 1 Raffles Cup (1800m) in 2012 and added the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1800m) last year to the British conditioner’s medal cabinet.

“He will go for the (Group 1 Panasonic) Kranji Mile next (on October 5) and then the Raffles Cup (three weeks later on October 26).

“I’m really happy with this. He’s had his share of problems and missed out long spells. It’s maybe lucky for us that he’s not such a big horse and it’s easier to nurse him back. I didn’t think he could win today to be honest and I just wanted him to get that run..

The Newbury Racing Stable-owned galloper was certainly more than a mere participant, though it did seem that way for the majority of the seven-furlong trip as he was a quiet observer at the back of the field as sprinter Mr Big (Manoel Nunes) set a blistering pace early on to lead proceedings.

“The speed for the first 600m was very quick but I felt my horse was travelling well and I knew I could wait until the straight to make my move,” said Santana, who has had previous success aboard another light-frame galloper, winning five “black-type” races with Stepitup (who finished last here) before losing the ride on the former 3YO champion earlier this year.

As the field swung around the final bend and spread themselves across the Short Course for their final assault, the Brazilian rider quickly maneuvered Flax to the outside where he had a clear uninterrupted path to the winning post, sat back and flicked on the afterburners. The winning time was 1min 22.40secs.

“I had a good feeling at that point and the early pace really suited him and he took off so fast when I asked him that I knew he was going to win,” said Santana, who scored back-to-back victories after saluting in the previous race aboard the Michael Clements-trained Touch Me Not.

This was his sixth feature race title since relocating here in 2012 but the first since his previous association with Stepitup ended.

“I’m very happy to win this for Mr David, who’s done a great job with this horse. He’s an old horse but he still has plenty of ability and when he asked me if I wanted to ride him today, I said of course.

“Stepitup is in the past and I don’t want to think about that anymore. This is racing and we must only look forward.”

With his latest victory, Flax, formerly known as Ballistic, has brought his formidable record to eight wins from 20 starts and has earned in excess of $1.1 million in prizemoney for his connections.