Punters in their finest get-up gathered on a warm and sunny day at Newcastle for the the $1 million The Hunter (1300m) on Saturday, hinting at a return to the Hunter's social calendar after months of relative silence during the COVID-19 shutdown.

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Sweet Deal, trained by Randwick's John Thompson, edged out Kris Lees-trained Special Reward to take out the feature race.

James Cummings' Asiago was third in the second running of the feature. Tactical Advantage, also prepared by Lees, was fourth after being runner-up in the same event 12 months ago. Elsewhere on the card Chris Waller's The Elanora was victorious in the group 3 NJC 3YO Spring Stakes (1600m) while Sliders picked up the Max Lees Classic (900m).