PRECISION planning from those complete professionals, champion trainer John Moore and his jockey Johnny Marshall, saw the $5 million Group Three International Cup return home yesterday with a comfortable length success from Motivation at sodden Sha Tin.
They sat down before the race and went through each horse and came to one inescapable conclusion - there would not be any speed on.
So they decided to ride Motivation closer to the pace than usual and also opted for a hands and heels finish as the flashy Argentinian-bred horse is one of those enigmatic types who does not respond to the whip.
Their foresight paid the perfect dividend - Motivation was never going to be caught once Marshall kicked clear just after they straightened for home off that predictably slow pace.
They had a length to spare over the French filly Verveine who in turn held the late burst from America's Stark South by a short head. It was a similar margin back to River Verdon who was not at all suited by the slowly-run race.
A jubilant Marshall, riding as well as he ever did when the champion back home in Sydney, beamed: ''We took the initiative as we thought it was going to be a slowly-run affair.