The trainer's premiership has an inverted and very rare look to it after two meetings - three-times champion trainer John Size is at the bottom of the table, with no placegetters from his first nine runners. But one of the stable favourites, Grand Delight, could change all that in this afternoon's main event.
The 2003 Horse of the Year has an edge on most of his rivals, in that he's had a race over 1,200 metres last week, behind The Duke and Town Of Fionn. It's the X factor in the Kwangtung Handicap Cup that gives the seven-year-old a significant edge.
While there is no such thing as Size's winning secret, because his methods are open for all to see, one thing he does better than anybody is to race his horses into rock-solid physical order. Hard racing condition is often the winning ingredient with Size horses in tight finishes.
Grand Delight has not won since taking the Chairman's Sprint Trophy in April last year. That race completed the Hong Kong sprinter's triple crown and set the son of Hurricane Sky up for Horse of the Year honours.
Grand Delight had a poor campaign last season but his pleasing fourth behind The Duke last week, beaten just 21/2 lengths, indicates he's back in business. The race will also be a litmus test for grand mare Elegant Fashion (Gerald Mosse), who heads the weights with a whopping 133 pounds. She must give seven pounds to Grand Delight and, because she's a mare, that translates to an 11 pound disadvantage relative to the weight-for-age scale.
A good run will confirm her presence in Melbourne for the Cox Plate in late October. Another Size-trained galloper who commands early interest is Entrepreneur gelding Fashion Jewellery in the third event.