There were plenty of regular faces trackside but in the end the day belonged to some newcomers.

Darci’s Affair justified his favourite tag to take out the feature by 2.3 lengths from the Moruya-trained Ward.

Coming off two improved efforts, with a win at Goulburn and a third at Canberra last month, stable representative Paul Murray was pleased with the result.

“His form held up really well this prep,” Murray said.

“We thought he’d be one of the best and he’s come along well.

“He was never in doubt, Brendan (Ward) rode him perfectly.”

The cup win was also a first for jockey Brendan Ward.

The Canberra-based jockey has been racing for 27 years but this was his first time in Cootamundra.

Despite drawing wide, Ward was confident of his chances aboard the $3.40 chance.

“I was pretty confident, even though I drew 11 out of 12 I thought I had the most progressive horse,” he said.

“It was a lovely run and I knew we had it from 1600 onwards.”

The pair had combined earlier in the day to score with Perfect Run, who enjoyed the quick back up.

The Oratorio colt finished ninth at Wagga on Saturday before a chance of fortunes saw him claim his first win.

Ward praised the “fantastic crowd”,  a sentiment echoed by Murray.

“This is our first Coota Cup and I’m really impressed,” he said.

“I think there should be more meetings here.

“It’s a good track, a good crowd and an enjoyable day.”

After last year’s meeting was abandoned after a broken sprinkler caused a section of the track to become waterlogged and deemed unsafe, racing made a triumphant return.

The club has made a number of improvements to the track, the stabling area and even a section of the old grandstand was re-opened, however the 2015 raceday wasn’t without any drama.

Race four was delayed after a gate handle snapped, however the problem was solved within the hour and the show could go on much to the committee’s relief.