Only two fillies that raced in the Golden Slipper pushed onto the Percy Sykes Stakes and it was those two that fought out the finish in the Group 2 contest, with Eneeza (+320) getting the better of Lady Of Camelot (+270) late at Randwick.
There were 2.7 lengths separating the two in the Golden Slipper last start, but a 3.5kg weight swing going in the favour of the Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman-trained filly and a smart ride from Damian Lane proved to be play a massive role in Eneeza turning the tables on the Slipper winner.
The daughter of Exceed And Excel jumped smartly from barrier six and Lane got her into a perfect stalking position behind the leaders, while the runner-up had to work from her wide barrier to find a spot off the fence behind the winner.
As the field turned for home, Lane looked for a gap between runners before steering his filly back to the inside rail and let her unleash a blistering turn of foot to claim the tiring Drifting (+1000) at the 200m mark.
Lady Of Camelot raised a strong challenge late and held on for second place ahead of the fast-finishing Erno’s Cube (+2000) and El Morzillo (+5000) who took significant ground off the top two in the final 50m.
2024 Percy Sykes Stakes Replay – Eneeza
Peter Moody was on course to speak about the win of Eneeza post-race.
“She didn’t have a lot of luck in the Slipper from a bad draw and that was a nice consolation,” Moody said.
“She’s probably been luckless this entire prep. She’s a gallant little filly and congratulations to Kia Ora and TF Investments for their patience, basically, after those unlucky runs.
“We probably brought ourselves undone in the Blue Diamond riding her a bit close but a lovely ride by Damian today and reward for effort.
“If we couldn’t win the big ones we’ll take home a group two.
“She’s a natural two-year-old and she’s not going to lose her ability.
“Can she improve? That is arguable but you’ve got to hope that the immature ones don’t catch up and overtake you – that is the key.
“I don’t think I’ve trained a tougher two-year-old.
“A nice little three-year-old sprinting filly can hopefully develop into a Coolmore horse.”
Damian Lane was very complimentary of the winner in his post-race interview.
“She’s just a little rocket,” Lane said of the winner.
“She must have a good constitution because she’s held her from so good throughout this prep and she’s so versatile.
“I had to concede too much ground from the poor barrier in the Slipper and today, just to be able to use her early and switch her off was the key.”
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