John Size produced a treble to move into second place in the trainers' championship but race leader John Moore wasn't to be outdone with a double that kept him clear as the title fight continues to head to another final day finish.
Size drew first blood with exciting debutant So Fast (Brett Prebble), followed half an hour later with Diamond Friends (Karis Teetan), then added exciting three-year-old Thewizardofoz (Joao Moreira) but Moore had struck back with Cheeky Too in mid-card and then topped the day with the "unexpected" Smart Man in the last.
When the mud cleared, Moore was left on 60 wins and three in front of Size, with one further back to Caspar Fownes, and Moore rueing the one that got away, Sure Peace unlucky for Moreira in the fourth behind Diamond Friends.
"He should have won and that was a big difference because it was one for John and one less for me, but then in the last race John had the favourite and Smart Man was able to beat him - an unexpected winner for me," Moore said.
"It's looking like another cliffhanger this season. We go back to Happy Valley on Wednesday where Caspar Fownes is the king and had three there last week, so there's a chance he'll get a winner or two back on me there.
"It's so tight, we've got horses that might have already been hung up for the season by now but they have to run again because we're trying to win this championship."
Smart Man (Derek Leung Ka-chun) was unexpected in so many ways it's difficult to know how he completed the course at all.
With the heavy rain and track downgrades during the day, the inside was not the place to be and Smart Man had barrier one. He also wasn't expected to handle the soft going and on top of that his trainer branded him as a reluctant winner anyway.
"He'd won a weak race in Australia on the wet when we didn't think he really handled it so that's a surprise but maybe that helped him to give us his best," Moore said.
"The truth is he has been very ungenuine, for a horse with his ability to have only won two races before today. He just doesn't give us his best but maybe the difference in conditions switched him on.
"Derek rode him very well and he rode to instructions. I said even from gate one, if he can find his way to the middle of the track in the straight it might give him a chance.
"Derek does a lot of riding for me and has really grown in confidence this season and carried that out beautifully."
Cheeky Too had not yet earned the same "bandit" brand but after promising to win for most of his seven local starts, he was on the way, and Moreira said Moore had given him the key to the breakthrough.
"Really, John told me how to win. He said to ride the horse European style, just let him find the rail, find his own pace and see if he could finish the race off better," Moreira said, and there was no sign of the overracing that has characterised Cheeky Too until now.
"He travelled very kindly for me on the bridle then he quickened and I think maybe he still has another win this season."
The torrential storm that hit during the Cheeky Too race saw stewards downgrade the track, not from "good to firm" down to "good", but they skipped one rating and went straight to "good to yielding" and that was further downgraded later.
