The Mauritian Magician, Karis Teetan stepped in for the absent Magic Man and landed a double including one John Size-trained Hong Kong Derby hopeful at Sha Tin - but not the one that most punters expected.

With Joao Moreira on the suspended list, Teetan was the substitute of choice on a number of runners, including Brilliant Dream for David Hall and Eastern Express for Size, though Thewizardofoz again let down his legion of supporters at odds-on in the final race.

"Two of my rides were scratched so, from six rides, two was a good day but it's too bad I couldn't win on the last one as well - you like to take these chances when you get them," said Teetan.

Eastern Express was bought by Size as a yearling and his stout breeding suggests that a Derby prospect was the hope all along, but winning a Class Four over 1,200m yesterday means that there is a some way to go before all that works out.

"He's a late foal so he came late but apart from that he always looked like he would make a nice horse," Size said.

"He had a couple of runs as a griffin and nearly won one and that tells you that they've got some natural ability. The race today was too short really but again it shows he has ability when he can win a race that isn't really suitable for him. Now we just take him along and step him up in distance and see where he can take himself."

The three-year-old had three barrier trials in preparation for yesterday's resumption but Teetan said he did not feel wound up.

"He still felt like there was a lot of improvement in him and he feels almost sleepy. He was quite green early then, when the pace of the race came back, he concentrated better," Teetan said. "He doesn't look like a sprinter and he'll get much better as he goes out in distance."

Hall said Brilliant Dream is making his own luck more this season as he has been easier to handle in his races with maturity, and yesterday's victory was the third in five runs this term.

"Some might think he is exceeding his ability, but where the improvement has come is that he is dropping his head and isn't wasting energy - he walks quietly behind the gates, he isn't sweating up," Hall said. "He probably won the race by missing the jump half a length so he was in behind them and relaxed. The way he won, I won't be surprised if he can win in Class Two either."