Eagle Nest outshines rivals to win Starlight Stakes

Gerald Ryan was beginning to question his assessment of Eagle Nest when she was marked at double-figure odds for the Starlight Stakes, but the Rosehill horseman had the last laugh as the mare ran her rivals ragged.

Posted the second roughest of the nine contenders at $20, Eagle Nest led under Tom Sherry and kicked strongly in the straight to cruise to a 1-1/4 length win over Our Kobison ($5.50) with Tristate ($14) a long head away third.

Ryan, who trains in partnership with Sterling Alexiou, admitted he was surprised at her odds given she had finished a game third behind subsequent The Warra winner Dragonstone last start and generally improved second-up.

“I said to Sterling this morning, ‘have I got this all wrong?'” Ryan said.

“No-one seemed to be giving her a chance. She ran really well against those horses first-up on Melbourne Cup day and her second-up stats are very good.

“Tommy (Sherry) had a ride on her Melbourne Cup day and he thought he went too slow on her and she couldn’t quicken.

“Today, he’d had the ride on her and he knew how to ride her and rode her good.”

Keen to add a black-type win to Eagle Nest’s pedigree page, Ryan and Alexiou had marked Saturday’s Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m) as her campaign target.

Now they have achieved that goal, they will put the mare in the paddock with a view to the Sydney autumn carnival.

“This is the race we have aimed her at all the way along,” Ryan said.

“I will give her a break until the autumn now. She has done what we wanted her to do.”

Eagle Nest is part-owned by former champion trainer John Moore, who Ryan says has always had tremendous faith in the mare.

“After she had a couple of starts, he said she’d win a stakes race and J Moore has been proven right yet again,” Ryan said.