Last year's championship runner-up Brett Prebble finished the opening meeting at the top of the table and in front of Douglas Whyte after a double and was grateful for the experience.
'Gee, it's nice to be in front of him at some stage of the race, but that's probably my moment of glory,' Prebble laughed after bringing home Always Giggle and Supreme Class for a pair to leave him equal with apprentice Marco Chui Kwan-lai.
'It would be nice to think I could give Douglas a run for his money at the premiership some time but he's far too well supported across the board by the trainers to think anyone could.'
But Prebble's international victories on Cape Of Good Hope last year in Melbourne and Bullish Luck in Japan's Yasuda Kinen in June have whetted his appetite for the majors of the world and that's where he sees his focus.
'Championships are good, and hard to win, there's plenty of merit in them but for me there's a bigger thrill in winning the big races of the world,' said Prebble, a dual championship winner in Melbourne in the past.
More international Group Ones may turn out a product of his growing association with Supreme Class's trainer, Tony Cruz, but Prebble also has plenty of time for the young trainer of his other winner, Always Giggle.
