Queensland jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor continued to make himself at home in New Zealand when producing a polished ride aboard Sharapova to win the Rotorua & Bay Of Plenty Hunt Life Members 1950 at Rotorua on Wednesday.

The Margaret Falconer-trained mare travelled strongly throughout for Wilson-Taylor, who allowed her to find her feet before bringing her into the clear approaching the home turn.

Sharapova was travelling like the winner well before straightening and Wilson-Taylor remained patient before presenting her centre-track, where the five-year-old lengthened nicely to put her rivals away.

“It was good to get the monkey off the back, so to speak,” Wilson-Taylor said.

“She has competed in much better races than this, albeit she hadn’t won for a while, but the rest of the field hadn’t either.

“There was good pressure from the get-go, so that really aided her. She settled and won well.”

The victory was another positive step for Wilson-Taylor as he establishes himself in New Zealand, having recently relocated from Queensland for an extended riding stint through the spring and summer carnivals.

The 26-year-old is based in Matamata and will also ride work at Cambridge as he looks to build relationships and capitalise on opportunities in New Zealand’s feature races.

Wilson-Taylor is already familiar with success on this side of the Tasman, having combined with the Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Grail Seeker to win the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m) at Trentham in 2024.

A Group One-winning rider in Australia, Wilson-Taylor’s career highlight came aboard Palaisipan (So You Think) in the 2023 Gr.1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) in Brisbane.

He has committed to an initial six-month stint in New Zealand and is hoping the move will provide further opportunities at the elite level as he looks to make his mark during the spring and summer.