There was an ominous look to the opening day of multiple champion trainer John Size yesterday, as the Australian blew off the cobwebs of a quiet 2006-07 with a double but it was the one that was beaten which caught all the attention.
Four-year-old Dao Dao (Douglas Whyte), who came from Sydney with some excellent credentials, hardly looked fit and ready to live up to the wraps in the second-last event, but was brave in a narrow defeat behind Triumphant Diamond which earmarked him as a horse to follow despite Size's protestations.
'Well, I don't know - everyone kept telling me how he would win today, but hopefully he'll gain something from experience,' Size said.
But the day was a worthwhile opening salvo elsewhere, with Right Fraar (Whyte) and Pocket Money (Felix Coetzee) landing the spoils to start Size's new term off with a bounce.
Right Fraar was the easiest winner of the afternoon, streeting Class Four rivals by almost four lengths after the pace of the event saw the race pan out perfectly for Whyte.
'The tempo slackened at one point and Right Fraar was able to take advantage of that and Douglas got going on him on the turn,' Size observed.
