One time Golden Slipper favourite Enthaar scored a decisive win in the Listed Doveton Stakes (1000m) to credit Emirates Park with its second stakes-winner on the day at Caulfield.
Enthaar burst on the scene last spring with a three-length win in the Group III Gimcrack Stakes at Randwick before making it two from two in the Group III Chairman's Stakes at Caulfield in January. The Ciaron Maher & Dave Eustace-trained, daughter of Written Tycoon, started a short-priced favourite in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes. She finished sixth, which ended her juvenile season.
At her first start in 36 weeks, Enthaar prepped for the Doveton with a solid third behind Profiteer over 1000m at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day.
With Jye McNeil in the saddle, Enthaar defeated Streetcar Stranger (Stratum) by three-quarters of a length with Yulong Command (Written Tycoon) the same distance back in third.
"She's always been a filly with oodles of ability. She took a while to come to hand, Maher said
"We were half thinking about kicking her off in the Moir at The Valley. She's a real 1000 metre horse.
"We waited for her, and I thought it was a solid effort first-up after such a long break.
"I thought Jye rode her well. She's not a horse you can ask to go forward and come back. You've got to keep her happy and free.
"It is great to get a winner for Emirates Park. They've had a pretty good day today (following the debut win of Ebhaar), and I'm sure they'll be chuffed.
"I’ve got a lot of time for this filly. “She can have a freshen now.
“She does take a long time to come to hand. The Oakleigh Plate is a possibly. I’d love it if it was 1000 metres, but as a three-year-old it might suit her. She was quite tractable today. We might be going in the right direction.”
A homebred for Emirates Park, Enthaar is the best of two winners from a many to race out of the Not A Single Doubt mare Final Agreement, a sister to Group 1 winner Secret Agenda.
Purchased by Emirates Park for $400,000 from the Newgate Farm draft at the 2016 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Final Agreement has a 2yo colt by I Am Invincible named Mutafiq. After being passed in short of his $500,000 reserve at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, Mutafiq will carry the green, white sash and cap of Emirates Park after being to sent to team Hawkes.
After missing to I Am Invincible in 2019, Final Agreement foaled a filly by Tassort on August 23.