A minor setback ended hopes of a Magic Millions campaign for Eloping but the smart two-year-old earned her shot at the Blue Diamond Stakes with victory in the fillies Preview at Caulfield.
The Peter Morgan and Craig Widdison-trained Eloping came into Saturday’s Listed Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) for fillies on the back of an impressive Bendigo debut win last month and backed it up with another convincing win.
Eloping winning the Blue Diamond Preview (Fillies) at Moonee Valley ridden by Stephen Baster and trained by Peter Morgan & Craig Widdison - (photo by Steven Dowden/Race Horse Photos Australia)
A minor hamstring strain early in her campaign forced Morgan and Widdison to back off the filly and take the Magic Millions Classic off the table, but Widdison thinks it might be a blessing.
“It was nothing serious but she wasn’t going to come right in time so we backed off for a couple of weeks and there’s been no issues since,” Widdison said.
Eloping was slightly slow away from an inside draw but quickly got into stride to take up the running.
The filly, who started $3.20 favourite, travelled nicely in front and continued to hold her rivals at bay in the straight to score by a length over first starter Lumosty ($41).
London Lolly was third past the post but lost that placing to Sakitto ($26) after her jockey Chris Symons successfully protested against Glen Boss’s mount over interference inside the 200m mark.
Widdison said Eloping could head into the $1 million Blue Diamond (1200m) on February 22 without another run.
Stephen Baster has ridden Eloping in her two starts and rates her a “very good two-year-old”.
“She’s a natural jump-and-run two-year-old,” Baster said.
