After beating just one home in each of her past two starts in benchmark races, only the true believers stuck with the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Shrouded In Mist who was only entered on the whim of her owner in Saturday’s Group II Queen of the South Stakes at Morphettville.
With Barend Vorster in the saddle, the 5yo daughter of Exceed And Excel led all the way to open her staked account at her 29th start in defeating Seabrook (Hinchinbrook) by one and a quarter lengths with Fidelia (Not A Single Doubt) a further two and half lengths back in third.
“I’m a bit surprised because I thought this mare wasn’t in the right form, but I’ve got to send a big thank you to my other co-trainer Peter Katelanis, the owner,” Tony McEvoy told racing.com.
“Peter was very keen to run in this race. She didn’t have the form I believed, and I was a bit keen to run her in the lesser race today. He was very strong and I thank him very much now.
“He (Katelanis) was very keen to have her forward and we went to the stewards and even though she didn’t jump cleanly Barend went on with that and got quite an easy lead.
“It was a good effort. She’s a pretty good mare and we target these races because Peter is a breeder and for her to win this Group II race, - the noise you hear is the champagne corking popping in his house.”
The Katelanis family homebred advanced her record to 6 wins, 4 seconds and 2 thirds from 29 starts with earnings of $321,725.
She becomes the third stakes-winner for the top-class racemare De Lago Mist (Encosta de Lago) whose daughter Into the Mist (Redoute's Choice) won this race four years ago.
Shrouded In Mist is a sister to triple Listed stakes-winner Instinction who stands at Palm Valley Thoroughbreds.
Sadly, the Group II VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes heroine De Lago Mist died in 2019 just weeks after foaling a colt by Russian Revolution. She also has a yearling filly Snitzel so there is still plenty to look forward to.
Shrouded In Mist is the second stakes-winner on the day for Darley Stud’s Exceed And Excel who struck early with the Queen Adelaide Stakes winner Forever Free, read about her here..
The son of Danehill takes his stakes tally to 169.
