Top-class mare Elegant Fashion answered plenty of questions in winning the Hong Kong Cup Trial on Saturday, but was she impressive enough against domestic-grade rivals to step up to the Hong Kong Cup?
Well, trainer David Hayes always maintained that, in Australia, Lindsay Park had rated the mare in the same category as Cox Plate winner Fields Of Omagh.
Then there was her unlucky defeat in the Gold Cup last season at the hands of Olympic Express, already an international winner himself.
And then there is evidence to suggest that not only was Elegant Fashion back to her best last weekend, she is even a little better.
There is the line through River Dancer, who, by trainer John Size's admission, ran up to his best in the Cup Trial. Elegant Fashion had a five-pound weight turnaround against her with River Dancer from their last two meaningful meetings, the QE II Cup and the Champions & Chater. Nevertheless, she defeated him by further than in the QE II Cup and by the same margin as the Champions & Chater.
There is also the Self Flit argument, especially as Self Flit has not looked out of form and was going well enough for trainer Ivan Allan to be keen on a Japan Cup berth.
Self Flit had met Elegant Fashion twice at 2,000 metres, the Derby and QE II Cup, each time with the same weight difference as last Saturday's race and each time finishing 11/2 lengths behind her after leading at a speed dictated by him.