After being set an impossible task, yet sticking on resolutely last start, a better draw and a gear change make Scent Of Osmanthus the banker in the opening leg of a tricky Triple Trio at Sha Tin on Sunday.
The Me Tsui Yu-sak-trained four-year-old endured a torrid run after Howard Cheng Yue-tin pressed forward from gate 11 and got trapped wide facing the breeze.
Sitting three deep with no cover near the speed, in a race run with suicidal sectionals early, Scent Of Osmanthus was entitled to drop right out and the run be thrown into the 'one to forgive' bin.
The gelding gave some cheek though, looming ominously late, before upset winner Life Of Beauty, who had tracked him into the race, peeled off his back and took the win.
Scent Of Osmanthus was third, never giving in at the end of the same 1,400m. Matthew Chadwick takes over from Cheng and gets the comparable luxury of gate six, from where he is much more likely to get cover, with the addition of blinkers for the first time.
Scent Of Osmanthus hasn't been the most consistent horse, with two wins and two placings from 18 starts, but all six of his top-four finishes have been at this course and distance. He gets in with 118 pounds, minus two for Chadwick's claim, having dropped to a rating of 45 - one point lower than when he won his maiden in May last year.
Promising youngster Cool Bean (Tye Angland) beat Scent Of Osmanthus home last start, and had a hard-luck tale of his own. The Derek Cruz-trained three-year-old was held up at a critical stage, and while he may not have won the race with a clear run, he looks like a horse that needs time and space to warm into his work.