The money came and with it too the promise and determination of Kim Waugh's three-year-old gelding Knight on debut at Kembla Grange on Saturday.
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Backed from as much as $13 into a $4.20 favourite, Jay Ford ensured Knight would set the pace and then fought off the charge of John Sargent's Most Welcome in a fierce two-horse battle in the straight.
Knight lifted after being headed in the restricted 1200m Maiden, while Robert and Luke Price's Young Heart lifted himself off the canvas to finish third, after being squeezed out looking for a rails run.
The city-class potential was also reflected in John O'Shea's odd-on favourite Fashchanel, who took control of a Benchmark 64 over 1200m to win by a length, her second success in four starts.
"We thought she might just need the run today actually," O'Shea's stable foreman Tom Charlton told Sky Racing.
"Obviously we were confident, but we just think there's plenty of improvement there and we think she can probably get up to a mile this preparation, hopefully she's in for a good prep.
"I was pleased with the way she knuckled down and went straight, it was something we couldn't put our finger on last preparation and I think that's just confirmed it.
"It was just down to greenness really."
Fashchanel finished runner-up in her two other starts, Charlton accepting she "threw the race away" when swamped late while leading as a $2.60 at Newcastle's Beaumont inner track in December.
The filly was then edged out in a gripping finish at Kembla Grange by Bound To Win, trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, but made amends on Saturday.
And it became a meeting of delivering on potential, as the Clarry Connors-trained Stolen Jade broke through at 1400m, her seventh start, defying favourite More Prophets.
Stolen Jade had been second in her past three consecutive starts, but adding the blinkers made all the difference, according to Marc Connors.
"Things haven't gone as planned this preparation, with three seconds under our belt," he said.
"But put the blinkers on and she was definitely a bit more on her game. She showed some really good fight today, I think she's racing well and hopefully that will be the making of her."
More Prophets - slowly away after Momack reared in the barrier before the jump - still challenged in the straight, but Stolen Jade would not be denied.
Meanwhile, Jason Coyle's Maui Girl made it two wins from as many starts with an impressive Class 2 1500m victory, holding off Gwenda Markwell's Heavenly Glory.