The Divine Calling story came to another untidy ending in the Chinese New Year Cup at Sha Tin but winning trainer John Size heaped praise on the character and will of Real Specialist.

For the third time in succession, punters pinned their faith to Divine Calling at odds-on to win the feature and for the third time he was gallant in defeat, but defeated nonetheless while Real Specialist (Joao Moreira) overhauled him to win his first race in more than two years.

"You know, you really have to admire horses like Real Specialist - he rushed up the charts with eight wins pretty quickly and he's been marooned on a high rating, running in races that have been too hard for him, for two years," Size said after the seven-year-old won the dash down the straight under top weight to prevail by half a length with Divine Calling's stablemate, Super Lifeline a close third. "He's a fantastic horse, he's just that couple of lengths short of being able to win Group One races, so he runs his fourths and fifths and sixths but he gives his best."

Real Specialist had little luck in three runs dropping back to Class One at the end of last season, but turned up yesterday rated 109 - the lowest mark he had been on since he was winning races.

"He really had to lose form to get back to a race he could win, but what I love about this horse - and there are others like him here in Hong Kong - is that even being denied a real opportunity to win for so long, he turns up when there is an opportunity and he has the heart and character to deliver," Size said. "He's never lost it. The slow tempo allowed him to travel sweetly but he carried weight and had to run a really good 400m to get past the leader and he did. It's amazing that horses like Real Specialist don't forget what they're supposed to do after so long without a win but they don't."

Champion jockey Zac Purton quickly put to rest any question marks over his tactics, dashing Divine Calling across the field early to lead before slowing the pace up through the midstages and turning it into a 21.81 second sprint down the home straight.

Even with that in his favour, the grey found one too good again and Tony Millard said he was not disappointed with Divine Calling but felt that expectations and a swift hoist up the ratings had been his enemy.

"He came in at a quite a good rating then he got 12 points for that first win here and that made it really difficult," Millard said. "And I think the public expectations have been too high, which is why he's odds-on every time. He is a good horse and in time I'm sure he'll show it. He's running very well, he just didn't win."

Millard said he has a new plan for Divine Calling's next run as he takes on Able Friend in the Group One Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup on Derby Day.

"The pressure is off him in that race and I'm going to ask Damien Oliver to come and ride the horse. Zac Purton will be on Ambitious Dragon and Damien won twice on this horse when he raced in Australia, so he knows him well," Millard said. "Super Lifeline ran well for third. He wasn't fast enough to lead today but he's honest and he'll go to the Hong Kong Macau Trophy now."

It was Size's fourth win in the Chinese New Year Cup after scoring with Century Star (2003), Super Kid (2005) and Glorious Days (2012) previously.