"It was a fabulous effort and it's great the owners were patient," Begg said.
"They allowed us to put her away, get her ready for this race and they backed my judgement not to run her again after the Easter Cup.
"That was vital as it was a very hard run race.
"It was a bit of a war of attrition that day on the deteriorating track."
While Lunar Flare was giving a healthy start in the middle stages of Saturday's race, Begg did not think White Marlin could keep carving out such quick sections.
Dee said the way the race was run had played into Lunar Flare's hands.
"I always knew they were going to go a gallop and keep it genuine which I was happy about," Dee said.
"She travelled nice and relaxed well enough. She is a mare that can grab the bridle a little bit and get a little strong, but she was great then.
"There was a question mark whether she would get any sort of trip, but the way she has come back this prep and the way she is relaxing, the way she won today, 3200 metres isn't going to be an issue for her.
"It wasn't our year last year. Hopefully this year will be different."