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Champion trainer Michael Clements pulled off the training feat of the day with Ocean Crossing returning from a 169-day break to blow rivals and punters alike out of the water in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1100m on Sunday.

With a profile that reads a higher propensity towards the mile and thereabouts, all on turf, not many took notice of the All Too Hard five-year-old in a Polytrack line-up that had garnered speed merchants like Sun Ops, Siam Warrior or My Dreamliner.

More so when at his last start, he ran out of the placings in the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) back in November when he was still prepared by Lee Freedman (returned to Australia in March), albeit not too far off the winner Big Hearted.

But in racing, many a time, stayers go well fresh in sprints, and that was the case again on Sunday.

Feeding off the hot tempo set by the pacemakers, Ocean Crossing  ($154) was able to ultimately tap into his greater stamina to come out on top.

Favourite Sun Ops (Oscar Chavez), who was bidding to stretch his unbeaten record to a three-in-a-row, was still in front at the furlong pole, but after those sizzling sectionals he carved out under the relentless pressure from My Dreamliner (Saifudin Ismail) for most of the speed dash, he looked decidedly vulnerable.

And so it was for Desmond Koh's speedster when Cheval Rapide (Wong Chin Chuen) was the first to roll him with a sneaky run underneath him along the rails.

But jockey Shafrizal Saleh had in the meantime weaved Ocean Crossing through the pack before powering home with a withering burst to deny Cheval Rapide by a neck while Sun Ops, softened up by the speed battle, and probably his 58kgs impost as well, folded to run third another 1 ½ lengths away.

The winning time was 1min 4.63secs for the 1100m on Polytrack.

With Ocean Crossing 22nd in the list of entry in the $1 million Group 1 Kranji Mile (1600m) in two weeks' time on May 22, that breathtaking win might give him a push which will certainly make him a worthy wingman to Clements' two top-raters Top Knight and Big Hearted.

"The Kranji Mile is something we will consider. His ratings were too low, but after this win, they may be pushed up, we'll see, and we'll see how he pulls up, too," said Clements.

"Today he was first-up and fresh, though he didn't show much in his trackwork. His last trial was good, though (won on April 29).

"It was also his first time on Polytrack, so it was a bit unexpected to see him win first-up, but we know he is a good horse who has run in a couple of Group races.

"We knew he would be outpaced early, but we did expect him to find the line as he did win some sprint races early."

Shafrizal echoed the same open-mindedness going into that comeback race over a distance not made to suit, but was definitely pleasantly surprised by the stunning turn of foot.

"He's a horse that has been improving since he came to us, but I couldn't be too confident as his form had been just okay, even if his last trial with Vlad Duric was very good," said Clements' former apprentice jockey.

"I discussed with Michael how to ride him today. Obviously, the 1100m is too short for him, and we agreed he was a horse who cannot go forward.

"But they went too fast and at the 600m, they were starting to come back to me. I still had plenty of horse under me and that's when I knew I had a chance."

In 20 starts, Ocean Crossing has now established a smart record of six wins and six placings for prizemoney that has now tipped over the quarter of a million dollars for the Hong Kong-based Lucky Unicorn Stable.