But the wait was only another 30 minutes before Step To Win (Thomas Yeung Kai-tong) scraped in with the Tai Mo Shan Handicap (1,000m) to give Lee victory.

'And you know the funny thing watching the race is that I had two runners and I thought the other one, Booming City, was unlucky - this game is a such a rollercoaster,' Lee said.

'I asked the rider on Booming City to take a close position and he did that but if he had sat for a little longer before really going for him, he probably would have beaten Step To Win instead of being fourth. Anyway, after a run of 50 losers, I'm just happy to have a winner.'

Nunes has been starved of the right opportunities much of the term to date and it was a week longer since his last winner, Ultra Fantasy on November 17, but he finally took his tally on to seven wins when he gained a dream run through the opening race on Pure Alpha.

With Pure Alpha a regular backmarker in his races, Nunes' plan was to try to find the rail back in the nine horse field then try to weave a passage and he couldn't believe his luck when it happened that way.

'I got to the rail at the back and was surprised that nobody seemed to want the fence up in front of me, so I went forward into a gap against the rail and then I was able to keep following Triumph forward when he made a move turning into the straight,' Nunes said.

'I was able to make quite a bit of ground without having to do much on my horse so he had enough left to get past Triumph in the last 100 metres.'

The win broke Pure Alpha's maiden status at the lightly raced five-year-old's 11th start, with the Sean Woods-trained gelding having already suffered a heart irregularity and a bleeding attack to slow his progress.