When rain was forecast for Brisbane, trainer Matt Dunn made the winning decision to send Madotti on a 10-hour float trip to Rosehill.

Dunn has plundered five Highway races and a $100,000 race also restricted to country-trained horses since September, but Madotti was his first metropolitan grade Sydney winner as she took out the Roadwork Solutions Handicap (1200m) on Saturday.

After being backed into $7.50, she edged out Pepperberry ($8) by a nose with Magic Aibi ($7) filling the minor placing.

Madotti was nominated for the Listed Colin McAlpine Memorial Classic at Eagle Farm but forecast rain convinced Dunn to send Madotti from his Murwillumbah stable to Sydney.

He was vindicated before the win, with a morning deluge at Eagle Farm rendering in the track in the soft range.

"Ideally that was where we were going to go but with the forecast of rain Matt pulled the right rein and decided to come down here," Dunn's wife Keira said.

"She didn't do much in her trial and it was a big risk coming down here a little bit underdone but she just tries so hard."

Madotti will now head towards the Magic Millions Fillies and Mares (1300m) on the Gold Coast on January 14.

She was the second leg of a winning double after Delightful Feeling took out the Highway Handicap.

Dunn said they would only look at establishing a Sydney stable if they had the quality of horses to be competitive.

"We're not prepared to come down here and get bashed up," she said.