Starlight Stakes 2022: Kris Lees looking for an Enchanted finish

On the cusp of beginning her next chapter as a broodmare, Enchanted Heart will be given the opportunity to round out her racing career with another stakes win.

The former Australian Bloodstock-owned galloper, a Listed winner of the 2021 Takeover Target Stakes, was sold to Yu Long Investments earlier this year and mated with their Victorian-based stallion Lucky Vega.

But before she begins fulltime preparations for motherhood, the Kris Lees-trained six-year-old will bid to add to her black-type record in the Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

“She is in foal so she will only have a couple more runs,” Lees said.

“But she is in good order and she reacts well fresh. I’d probably prefer a little bit of moisture in the ground as opposed to what she will find, but she is still very capable.

“James McDonald has ridden her before and she gets James on so she gets a few ticks.”

Enchanted Heart hasn’t raced since finishing second to Aysar in Listed grade at Moonee Valley in September.

She was due to contest the Furphy Sprint at Flemington on Derby Day but was a late scratching after being kicked by another horse behind the barriers, she and her foal thankfully emerging from the incident unscathed.

“We brought her straight back after that and she’s had a tick over trial. She is in good order,” Lees said.

While Enchanted Heart is a superior performer on rain-affected tracks, she has notched three wins on good ground and is proven over the Rosehill 1100m circuit.

Lees will also be represented in the Group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m) by Loch Eagle, who rebounded from a below par performance in the Silver Eagle with a closing last-start fourth to Saturday’s rival Coal Crusher over 1300m at Newcastle.

A backmarker, Loch Eagle drops significantly in weight and if the race is run at a genuine speed, Lees can make a case for him figuring in the finish.

“He is just reliant on a bit of tempo,” Lees said.

“He will run well and he deserves a chance in stakes company.”

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