In the week when the Nick Olive-trained Voice Commander scooped the NSW Country Horse of the Year award, another shining light from his Canberra stable has starred in the Listed Starlight Stakes at Rosehill.Zaratone produced a performance of sustained speed to run some accomplished sprinters off their feet in the $100,000 1100m feature.Jockey Kathy O'Hara combined with Voice Commander to win two Listed races last season and was also on board Zaratone ($18) in the Starlight as the six-year-old de

In the week when the Nick Olive-trained Voice Commander scooped the NSW Country Horse of the Year award, another shining light from his Canberra stable has starred in the Listed Starlight Stakes at Rosehill.

Zaratone produced a performance of sustained speed to run some accomplished sprinters off their feet in the $100,000 1100m feature.

Jockey Kathy O'Hara combined with Voice Commander to win two Listed races last season and was also on board Zaratone ($18) in the Starlight as the six-year-old defeated Royal Discretion ($41) by a length with a long neck to Group One Galaxy winner Atomic Force ($7) in third.

Olive wasn't on track to celebrate the victory as he was attending his brother's surprise birthday party, but O'Hara praised the Canberra trainer for how Zaratone was turned out for his return.

"I was rapt to get on this horse, he went through his grades last time and he's obviously taken the next step because he was in tip-top order today," O'Hara said.

"You could just look at him and see he was in good order so Nick has done a great job with him.

"He's an out-and-out speed horse."

Desperate to find the lead, O'Hara used Zaratone's brilliant speed to cross noted frontrunner Gold Trail early in the race and take up the running.

He led the field and then kicked strongly in the straight to record the 14th and most important win of his career to date.

"I gave him a good dig out of the gates because Nick said he's not much of a racehorse off the fence and I thought it was going to be a mission to cross Gold Trail but he did it easily," O'Hara said.

"He's got speed to burn and it was a big effort."

Trainer Darren Smith was delighted with the return of Atomic Force carrying 60.5kg.

"He went really, really well," Smith said

"They went fast and kept going. I think he heads to Melbourne now but I'll sit down with (Dynamic Syndications') Dean Watt in the next 48 hours and then go from there. He'll probably have a couple of runs before the (Group One) Manikato Stakes."