Kody Nestor's Sneak Preview has shown promising signs in their return to racing after a ten week let up, crushing the competition and turning Sunday's Reeve Wheeler Memorial Cup into an all Nestor battle to the finish line.
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The five-year-old gelding took out the win, but was forced to fight off stablemate Fast Talking, who settled for second.
While both of Nestor's horses were favoured in the race, coming in at $2.60 and $3 respectively, there were some concerns that Sneak Preview would struggle to find their form in their return.
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Those fears were quickly put to bed as Sneak Preview came storming down the centre of the track on the final turn to eclipse the strong starting Rogue Runner from Rodney Robb's stable.
Fast Talking matched the intensity from the outside and turned the race into a two-way battle, but there was no catching Sneak Preview who finished up nearly two lengths ahead of their rival.
Speaking with Sky Racing after the race, Nestor said the preparation had been better than expected in the lead-up.
"Really happy with both of them, they both look like they're coming back in good order, I haven't had a chance to really assess the race or watch the replay back, but it seemed like they both finished off the race good," Nestor said.
"I reckon it's the best Sneak Preview's ever come back this time in, he really did well during the freshen up, if we keep them both on track, they should should both have a really good preparation."
While the Reeve Wheeler Memorial race functioned as the sprint prelude on Sunday, the 1420m Dubbo Cup prelude followed, with trainer Darren Hyde securing a clear victory with Westlink.
While Brett Thompson's Attalea and Brett Robb's Bells 'n' Bows both showed discipline and speed across the length of the race, Hyde's six-year-old was impossible to deny in the race's final stages.
With the wet track rougher than anticipated, many horses on the day stuck to the edges and sought safer stretches of turf and no one made better use of it than Westlink.
The presumptive favourite and jockey Ashley Morgan found the inside and worked themselves along the rail as they passed the final turn and began to separate themselves from the pack in the track's final 400m.
A final burst of speed carried the winner over the finish line a full two lengths ahead of their closest competitor, with Rodney Northam's After All That running in second and Thompson's Attalea holding off a challenge from Grant Marshall's Achi Baba to stay in third.
The Dubbo City Toyota Gold Cup race day is currently scheduled for September 13.
