Testashadow's race manners almost cost him victory at Rosehill on Saturday, but trainer Gary Portelli declared the gelding ready for the Magic Millions Guineas on the Gold Coast in January.
"He's got this habit of letting horses come at him," Portelli said. "I told Tim [Clark] 'if you get to the front don't go easy on him, you just get into him because I think he'll start to think about it'."
Testashadow ($4.60), who took a sit towards the rear of the field, cruised past the leaders at the 300 metres, but Tree Of Jesse ($14) peeled off his back to hit the lead inside the final 100 metres before Testashadow fought back to win by a nose.
Portelli said a gear change may have helped, but he didn't know why Testashadow refused to run away from the field once in front.
"I put the visor on him this time and it might have worked in the end, but I was thinking three strides from the post that it was a waste of time putting them on because you could see that horse coming at him for half a furlong," he said.
"I've never had a horse do this. To come back to win with 59 kilograms on his back was a huge effort. She had him cold and put a neck on him.
"I don't know what it is because he doesn't do it at track work, he just puts them away. When the second horse went past him so quick I thought 'we've got a problem with this horse."
Testashadow will be given a three-week freshen up before his hit-and-run mission to the Gold Coast on January 10.
"I'll take him up there pretty close to the day if it's hot. The worst thing you can do is take them up there in 40-degree heat," Portelli said.
Clark praised the gelding's will to win after Tree Of Jesse put a long neck on his mount inside the final 50 metres.
"The visor has helped me and the horse has got that little bit quicker. He's done a really good job because she would have got a good margin on me," Clark said.
"I was obviously mindful of where the odds-on favourite [Kaepernick] was and I didn't want to give him too much of a start.
"I got to the front under a hold at the 300 and the favourite was going no good."
James McDonald couldn't believe he didn't win after Tree Of Jesse, who struggled to find a run until late, surged to the front.
"I thought I had the race won but I think she just got a bit tired," he said.
Kaepernick, backed in late from $2.05 to $1.90, let punters down and his jockey Tommy Berry said: "I was hoping I wasn't going to get there too early I was going that well and it was a matter of how far.
"Then he pulled up on me when I went for him. He's done that at Gosford when James ran second on him and it's not good when they've got that trait in them."
