There was no round of handshakes or exuberant celebrations as Paul O’Sullivan’s season began to gather steam with Healthy Joyful and Celestial Smile bringing up a running double to close the day for the popular trainer.

O’Sullivan bounced back with 39 wins last season after a number of lean years, and after starting this term in relatively subdued fashion, he has now started to pick up the pace.

During the down times O’Sullivan would celebrate passing the minimum win benchmark of 15 with a round of handshakes with the assembled press. Yesterday, it was a mere formality as the rejuvenated stable moved to 16 wins less than halfway through the season – and with the promise of more to come from Healthy Joyful.

Healthy Joyful races away under Neil Callan for an easy victory, one which places the horse at the mercy of the handicapper.

“It’s better to be passing that 15-win mark in January than it is in June,” O’Sullivan said after a well-judged Neil Callan ride made perfect use of barrier three on his first winner. “Honestly, he has been racing well since he got here. He has probably been the victim of a couple of bad rides, and admittedly some bad riding instructions at times.”

Healthy Joyful’s performances to date had certainly been better than most horses with zero from eight records, with one of those defeats a second to star-in-waiting Thewizardofoz late last season.

The slingshot effect of a hot speed and Healthy Joyful’s swooping run meant the winning margin stretched to three and a quarter lengths on the line – with another two and a half lengths from runner-up Hard Ball Get to third-placed Laugh Out Loud – putting O’Sullivan’s horse at the mercy of the handicapper when ratings are reassessed tomorrow.

It was Neil Callan’s second winner of the day, after first scoring on Dennis Yip’s Cheerful Frame.

“When they win like that in New Zealand, you feel good about yourself, but you don’t here – it can cost you a win,” the trainer said.

Callan was hopeful Healthy Joyful’s upside could absorb whatever jump in the handicap he receives.

“He had been running well off bad draws, so when he pulled a gate I was confident because every time he has had the benefit of a good draw, he has run a good race,” Callan said. “He has a good turn of foot when you ride him patiently.”

It was also a double for Nash Rawiller, who earlier steered Midnite Promise to victory.

Celestial Smile put on his usual pre-race antics, charging out on to the track and proving a handful, but once up and running the tough six-year-old endured a wide run and then outmuscled favourite Apollo’s Choice in a tight finish under a typically hard-nosed Nash Rawiller ride.

O’Sullivan said he is in awe of a horse that underwent arthroscopic surgery on both front knees in the off-season, but has now won two-from-two this term and has placed in all of his 16 career starts.

“He has been a marvel this horse – even if he is no superstar, he just keeps rising to the occasion,” he said. “Today, he sat wide, did it tough and still did enough to win. You don’t see many horses have a procedure like that and come back. I think that surgery has made him better – at least for now.”