Top Cambridge juvenile Vinnie Eagle is on his way to Sydney for the Inglis Classic after easily taking out the Group Three Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie.

Vinnie Eagle was sent to the front at the start of the 1200m contest by jockey Leith Innes and kicked away in the straight for a 2-1/2 length win, despite veering out late in the race.

“We thought he’d run well. He had a good look halfway down the straight, but look, that was a good two-year-old race and he’s done it well,” co-trainer Tony Pike said.

A $65,000 purchase, Vinnie Eagle has yet to be beaten in two races and two trials and Pike says the $250,000 Inglis Classic (1200m) at Randwick on January 18, has been his target since he showed promise in training.

“It looks a nice race for us,” he said.

“It’s just restricted to horses out of the Inglis Classic sale, so you’re not taking on the best of Australia’s two-year-olds,” Pike said.

His opponents are likely to include Boomwaa, winner of the Group Three Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington.

Through that race safely, Vinnie Eagle is likely to be aimed at New Zealand’s Group One juvenile races, the Diamond Stakes and the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Steel Rose fought well for second, narrowly ahead of the slightly unlucky Vespa, who was caught well back on the rail and would probably have taken second with a clear run.