Out of luck in Group One company at her past two starts, Eneeza has turned her fortunes around to edge out Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot in the Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick.
The filly settled too close to a slick speed when fourth in the Blue Diamond Stakes two starts ago then had to get out of her ground from an outside draw in the Slipper when she warmed up late to finish seventh.
From an ideal draw in barrier six on Saturday, Damian Lane was able to position Eneeza ($4.20) within striking distance of the leaders and she zipped home along the inside to hold Lady Of Camelot ($3.80 betting fav) at bay by three-quarters of a length.
Co-trainer Peter Moody said the win was just reward for Eneeza’s patient connections, who paid $1.1 million for the daughter of Exceed And Excel as a yearling.
“She hasn’t had a lot of luck this entire prep,” Moody said.
“She’s a gallant little filly so congratulations to (owners) Kia Ora and Fung Investments for their patience.
“After those couple of unlucky runs in the big ones, we’ll take home a Group Two.”
Eneeza raced twice in Melbourne at the end of last year before being freshened for the autumn, the Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) her fourth campaign start and second trip to Sydney.
Moody credited the youngster’s good attitude and resilience to helping her get the job done at Randwick.
“She has covered a lot of miles, this is her second trip up to Sydney, sixth run as a two-year-old filly so she is unbelievably resilient,” he said.
“I think she has a well-earned rest and I look forward to seeing what she can develop into in the spring.
“She’s a nice little sprinting three-year-old filly and hopefully she can develop into a Coolmore (Stud Stakes) horse or something like that.”
Lane has ridden Eneeza in all six starts and felt her low draw was key on Saturday.
“I rode her closer in the Diamond and it probably just brought her undone a touch close to a hot speed, we rode her back in the Slipper from a poor draw and today I was able to use my barrier and have her in a handy spot,” Lane said.
“It makes your job a hell of a lot easier when you’re riding a versatile horse.”
Lady Of Camelot had to contend with an outside gate and tried hard under her 59kg topweight, but couldn’t bridge the gap on Eneeza over the final stages with co-trainer Adrian Bott confirming she would now be spelled.
“She’s done enough this prep,” Bott said.
“Ultimately it was probably just the weight pull. She gave the winner four kilos, so that’s significant and obviously got a lot of respect for the winner.”
Erno’s Cube ($21) ran her usual honest race, another three-quarters of a length away third.
