Punters weren't sure. Jockeys had to wait. Even connections thought it went the other way.
But after a dramatic photo finish, favourite Briasa was ultimately declared the winner of a Hunter thriller at Newcastle on Saturday.
The emerging gelding bobbed at exactly the right moment to edge out Felix Majestic on the line. It could have easily gone the other way.
"From where we standing I thought we'd run second and then when the number went up, unbelievable," a representative from The Hawkes stable said.
Briasa now adds a $1 million, group 2 feature to the resume, having saluted in six of seven career starts.
Tyler Schiller, with newborn son trackside, was the jockey.
"He [Briasa] is a tradesman. That's probably his toughest test to date," Schiller said.
Schiller also won last year's Hunter on board Coal Crusher, which finished third in 2024.
There was nothing in the next either, Australian Bloodstock's Herman Hesse was pipped at the post by Nikau Spur to clinch the listed Beauford (2300m).
In the earlier group 3 Spring Stakes (1600m) it was Ciaron Maher-trained Snitzanova edging out inside runner French Ruler to claim the $250,000 feature.
Gobi Desert, owned by Yu Long Investments and a half sister of In Her Time, took out the two-year-old Max Lees Classic (900m) by half a length. Tim Clark was the jockey.
Bookending the meeting for locals, Scott Aspery opted out of the Hunter and got the job done in the last with Uzziah.
Blue Guitar picked up the class 3 Highway Handicap (1600m) at long odds, paying $51 on TAB fixed betting.
Townsend blew the opposition away in the Alf Kneebone Trans Tasman Trophy (1850m), getting ahead and staying ahead to finish 3.4 lengths in front.
Dazzle Legend saluted in the Lauren Parker Legend Mile (1600m) from Bullets High in a photo finish.
Harlow Mist and Watch My Girl were the other winners.
