The new boy on the block was strutting his stuff an eight-hour drive north at Ellerslie, one hour before Mufhasa made his his opposition look a grade below him, which they were.
Durham Town didn't win the Aussie Butcher $85,000 Concorde with as much to spare, but was equally impressive.
Making that so was the fact he was having just his seventh raceday start in a group two event.
Few horses can do that and the ones who do, almost without exception, go on to be absolute topliners. "There has always been something special about this bloke," said co-trainer Donna Logan after Durham Town confirmed his promise with win No 5.
So special that one of the best yearling judges ever in the business, former trainer Jim Gibbs, approached Donna and Dean Logan after they beat him at the Karaka auction.
A deal was done and Gibbs, with mate, former All Black coach John Hart, Paul Collins and David Wale, now race the chestnut.
The group one Railway is the next obvious target and Durham Town is going to get into that feature at Ellerslie on the right weight.
He carried just 52.5kg and against a stronger Railway line-up shouldn't get much more than that.
Outside of bad luck and a shocking draw, they are going to have to really stretch to beat him.
You have to hope Durham Town will eventually prove as good at 1400m and 1600m as he is at 1200m.
That's where the money is. Mufhasa took his earnings past $2.7 million with Saturday's win, a total made possible because he has proved equally as effective at 1400m and 1600m as he is going a strong 1200m, even if 1400m is probably his ideal distance.
There is little real money in New Zealand for a horse that cannot run past 1200m. There are no weight-for-age races at 1200m like there are at 1400m and 1600m and a topline 1200m specialist ends up carrying the grandstand in handicaps before even half a million has been banked.
Durham Town's sire Falkirk was an absolute speed horse. Looking at Durham Town, he appears the type who will run a very strong 1400m. He is powerfully built and will settle more with future racing.
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If you don't have an opinion that It Has To Be You is a coming topliner, you weren't watching the third race.
The chestnut was an impossible chance to win when locked away behind a wall of horses at the 250m.
A gap opened, but it looked to be too late. It would have been if It Has To Be You hadn't produced a remarkable sprint, despite the gap half closing as he took it.
There is a huge upside here, but we might not see it - the 3-year-old is owned in Hong Kong.
