Trainer Darryl Blackshaw saw the result of the opening race at Flemington as an omen and so it proved when Illustrious Lad gave him his first stakes victory 40 minutes later.

When the Colin Rees-trained outsider Automatic Choice won the Taj Rossi Series Final, Blackshaw warmed to his chances of giving two old friends a rare stakes double.

"There was a bit of an omen today (after) that first winner," Blackshaw said.

"Colin Rees and I played polocrosse at Ballarat right back, 25 to 30 years ago."

Blackshaw only took over the training of Illustrious Lad last month after Peter Gelagotis was suspended for three months over a breach of the raceday treatment rules.

The Moe horseman was confident Illustrious Lad would be hard to beat in Saturday's Listed A R Creswick Series Final after he finished fourth over 1000m and 1100m at Flemington in his first two runs for the stable.

"I reckon he's been dying for the 1200 metres right from the start but we had to go through the (Creswick Series) heats," Blackshaw said.

"He was going really well at home."

Blackshaw said he had taken over the training of all but one of the Gelagotis team for three months because he had the facilities to accommodate them.

The temporary influx has more than doubled his usual numbers to around 20 horses.

Illustrious Lad got cover in the run before hitting the front under jockey Craig Williams inside the 200m.

He held off Sang Choi Bao to win by a half-head with Rough Justice another 1-1/2 lengths away.

Williams started the day one win behind Dwayne Dunn in the Melbourne jockeys' premiership but claimed an early winning double in the first three races on Illustrious Lad and Jessy Belle in the Leilani Series Final.