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Versatile mare Eagle Nest faces target race in Brisbane debut on Saturday.
A perfect picket fence preparation so far has trainer Gerald Ryan pleased with Eagle Nest's lead-up to the mare's target race at Doomben on Saturday.
With now three wins in as many runs this campaign, Eagle Nest will line up in the Listed Tattersall's Classic (1200m) and crosses the New South Wales-Queensland border as the $4 favourite, narrowly ahead of the Tony Gollan-trained five-year-old Comrade Rose at $4.20.
Training partners Ryan and Sterling Alexiou took over the training of Eagle Nest earlier this year and since then a stronger filly becoming a mare has been key to success for the four-year-old.
"She always showed ability but she lacked strength," Ryan said.
"You could never run her 10 days or two weeks apart before but now she's coping really well with it."
Eagle Nest travelled to Brisbane on Wednesday night from Sydney and comes off a win in benchmark 78 company at Rosehill on November 11.
Aiming towards the Queensland Summer Carnival, she steps to 1200-metres for the first time having notched her four wins in 10 starts all over 1100-metres.
Open minded as to whether she can win again, Ryan is confident that her added strength can see her through.
"You never know until you go there," Ryan added of the distance switch.
"She's never been there before but I think she'll get it.
"Her work has been terrific but it isn't like you do much with her but her work has been good.
"You don't let her run super times in work. She can do that and you just don't let her.
"Right from when she had her spelling in the winter, if she came back well we'd aim at this race.
Versatility is another factor in the mare's favour with all three wins this time in delivered off her leading in her races and an outcome different to her previous outings.
For Ryan, that was more about race circumstances rather than tactics, but she can revert to coming from behind again.
"I thought with the make-up of the race on Saturday, I thought she could sit behind them," he said.
In this her first step up to black-type company and this time with James Orman in the saddle, Eagle Nest's opposition includes Comrade Rosa who was twice a winner during the Brisbane Winter Carnival including victory in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes (1300m), and Extremist ($6.50) who comes over a last start win in the Listed Keith Noud Stakes (1200m) at Doomben a fortnight ago.
