'He's been tackling the best most of the season in big races, up on the pace and doing it hard. The only time he really dropped down to his class was in the Macau race and he ran very well for second to Helene Pillaging.'

Backing up from his ninth in this year's star-studded Champions Mile last week, Figures belied his poor record at 1,200m to win yesterday's race aided by what Oughton described as 'an 11 out of 10 ride' from Douglas Whyte.

'That's three times the horse has backed up from week to week and three times he's won - the Champions Mile he backed up quickly too. He loves to run like that but with these horses high in the ratings there are very few opportunities to run them week to week,' Oughton said.

'The 1,200m has been sharp for him in the past but that has been in races against Silent Witness, and anyway the edge off the ground today would have helped him with the drop back in trip.'

If Oughton had maintained his confidence in Figures, one or two of the ownership syndicate might not have been quite as stolid as Whyte revealed the horse's apparent loss of form was the reason he was booked for the ride.

'One of the owners said to me he thought it was a bit sad seeing the horse beaten all the time at the 300m instead of showing his fighting heart - he asked me if I could do a bit of horse whispering or something like that to get him going,' Whyte laughed. 'Really, I don't know what he expected but I guess we got the right result and that is the main thing.'

Nevertheless, it was Whyte's close understanding of Figures - yesterday's victory made it three wins on him in six rides - which probably made the difference.

'I've been watching how some of the other guys have ridden him and they have been sitting back trying to restrain him and to me he's just a fast, one-paced galloper,' Whyte said.

'You can win or loose a race on Figures at the gates because he likes to be in the thick of it so I bounced him out and put him behind the fast lead today and in a position where I knew they would have to get past me. When I went and Special King Prawn came after me, I was really laughing because as we know Figures loves a fight, he has one of the biggest hearts in Hong Kong racing. I knew Special King Prawn had the job ahead of him because my guy was going to fight him off, tooth and nail, and he did. He just kept grinding.'

But a win like this might solve one problem and present another for the connections as Figures has now consigned himself to more time at the peak of the handicaps when the new season starts.

'We'll see how he's placed but the owners and I have discussed it already that, if he looks too highly placed, it might be worth campaigning him in Melbourne early in the new season,' Oughton said.

'He loves soft tracks which he would be likely to encounter there and they have some nice terms races that would suit Figures. I think he'd scoot around Moonee Valley pretty happily.'

The overdue win showed that Figures had taken no long-term harm from the track accident last year which caused him a setback leading up to the Hong Kong Mile.

'In late October I think it was, he struck his head against a rail and fractured his skull - took a big splinter of bone out of his head,' he said.

'Hasn't made him any prettier with the protective mask he wears now but it hasn't hurt his ability to race or his spirit.'