Bacio Del Mist finally enjoyed her day in the sun, scoring a career-best win in the Stayer’s Cup at Rosehill, much to the delight of trainers Lee and Cherie Curtis.

Often the victim of poor barriers and unlucky scratches, the seven-year-old mare seized her opportunity in the 2400m feature, settling back in the field under Alysha Collett before producing a powerful inside run to defeat Mormona by a neck. Casual Connection was close behind in third.

Trainer Lee Curtis said Bacio Del Mist’s persistence had finally paid off and referenced her strong effort in the Epona Stakes (1900m) as proof she had been knocking on the door.

“She has just had no luck. Not so much with the barriers, although they’ve been horrible, but just missing out on runs in races,” Curtis said.

“When she ran in the Epona, we had her in another race that day and she missed out by one, and she ran super in the Epona. Over the 2400 metres she would have run really well.

“She has had no luck and she has been running good races too. She is such a gutsy thing and so tough.”

The Stayer’s Cup was her twelfth run in an enduring campaign that began last December, and her first Saturday metropolitan win.

Although plans were in place to retire her, Curtis revealed that the owners might extend her racing career given how well she’s still performing. “The plan was to go through this prep and wind it up but the owners might want to race her for another twelve months,” he said. “She is a marvel for a $30,000 yearling.”

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