Lady Of Camelot may have come up short in last Saturday’s $3m Magic Millions Sunlight, but her connections were far from disheartened by the performance.
The filly, a former Golden Slipper champion, finished second to Private Harry in the 1100m race, leading her team to believe she could excel over longer distances. Her slightly slow start from the inside barrier and a period of being held up contributed to the outcome. Steve O’Connor, racing and bloodstock manager for Sir Owen Glenn, indicated that they are considering new opportunities for the Written Tycoon filly.
“She bounced out of the run in good order and she’s at Newington (Farm) for a few weeks,” O’Connor shared about the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained three-year-old. He added, “Funnily enough, she maybe lacks a bit of that tenacious early speed that she used to have as a two-year-old, so I think we’ll maybe look to go up in distance a bit this year, and races like the Surround Stakes might be on the agenda.”
The Group 1 Surround Stakes, contested over 1400m with a $750,000 purse, will take place at Randwick on March 1.
To date, Lady Of Camelot has not raced beyond 1200m, the distance at which she won the Golden Slipper and placed second in the Blue Diamond Stakes and Coolmore Stud Stakes. She also secured a third-place finish in the Group 1 Moir Stakes over 1000m. Her impressive record includes three wins and four minor placings from 10 starts, with earnings of $5,649,000.