Five times champion trainer John Size finally broke out with a three timer at Sha Tin yesterday that might easily have been a shot across the bow for the championship that lies ahead.
A sluggish start to the term is not unusual for Size, but after a Brave Kid-Spinnaker double in tandem with Douglas Whyte in the first half of the card, he successfully stepped Appreciation up to 1,800m under William Pike later in the day to lift himself four places on the ladder in a single bound with his first treble since February 1 this year.
Size's unraced and lightly raced horses look a dangerous bunch on paper this season, and Brave Kid's win on debut and Spinnaker's third-start victory fitted right into that category, while Appreciation is now looking a Derby prospect after scoring for the first time beyond 1,400m.
'He begins nicely but he likes to settle and he does settle, provided there is a reasonable tempo, which is what he had today,' Size said.
'Appreciation travels very kindly and we thought to have him midfield and get some idea today if he can stay.
'Well, he certainly passed that test. He ran the 1,800m right out and we could probably try 2,000m with him if we want to.'