NIGHTLINE OUTGUNS HER RIVALS IN THE EAGLE WAY

By Graham Potter | Saturday, January 3, 2026

A two venue double on January 3 … highlighted by a $160 000 city Saturday race win in The Eagle Way over 2100m at Eagle Farm … saw the Tony and Maddysen Sears training partnership kick off the New Year in style.

The lightly raced three-year-old Nightline was their Eagle Way winner.

The striking black daughter of Redwood was stretching out to the 2100m trip for the first time here in only her sixth career start.

The way she coped with the distance brought a further positive perspective to her results earlier in her career where her debut runner-up finish … when finishing just 0.20 lengths behind the winner … and her win at the Sunshine Coast in her follow-up run in her second start were both achieved over 1400m, a distance well short of her best.

Including that Maiden win, Nightline has gone win, unplaced, win, unplaced in her last four starts which might mean that she has been hard to find by punters … but those who stuck fast with Nightline should be way ahead in the betting return column with the Sears trained runner saluting at the hard-to-believe odds of $41when she claimed her second career win in $125 000 QTIS City To Surf over 1600m at Doomben, a race in which she lowered the colours of the Chris Waller trained, $2.50 favourite John Dory.

It should also be noted that Nightline’s last defeat, in her second last start, came when she stepped up both in class and distance to Group 3 company in the Grand Prix over 1800m. She was well beaten there but, only being her fifth career start, it could go down as a run that added to her education.

Then it was on to the Gateway … and a result which confirmed her promise.

Mark Du Plessis was one of those who of those who stuck with Nightline. The vastly experienced rider had been aboard the filly when she won the City To Surf … and when she had come unstuck in the Grand Prix, meaning that this time he was guiding Nightline to her second win aboard her from only three rides.

Du Plessis settled Nightline ($6.50) in third after leaving the gates and then fourth place, three-and-a-half lengths off the lead sitting right next to the $1.95 favourite Agent Zero as Tap High ($14) took the field down the back straight.

Nightline was up to third again, still with Agent Zero in close attendance, in the sweep to the home turn and it was on the point of the home turn, on straightening, that Du Plessis made a bold move which played a big part in setting up victory for Nightline.

In danger of being boxed in along the inside, Du Plessis had no hesitation in switching Nightline out wider on the track, shifting Agent Zero out of the way in no-nonsense fashion in the process, to claim clear running.

Tambeloa (the $3.40 second favourite), having taken over from Tap High up front, was now the horse to catch and Du Plessis wasted no time in asking Nightline to go through her gears, and the Sears trained runner quickly surged into the lead and then stayed on strongly to see easily see off the belated challenge of the $8 chance Mr Worthington, beating the runner-up home by 1.33 lengths.

That’s three wins now (over 1400m, 1600m and 2100m) from only six starts for the lightly raced three-year-old.
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Earlier out at Ipswich, twenty minutes before Nightline saluted at Eagle Farm, another promising Sears trained three-year-old was claiming a second successive win in only her third career start.

The lightly raced Miss Force had finished second on debut back in July 2025 … then saluted in her second start over 1000m at Eagle Farm in August.

With that important first win in the bank, Miss Force was given a four-and-a-half month break from race action, before resuming here at Ipswich in a Class 2 Handicap over the 800m dash with Dylan Turner in the saddle.
Miss Force (the $2.50 favourite) landed in the leading line and then pressed forward to hold a length advantage up front at a comfortable gallop in the early part … and that basically was ‘race over.’

The daughter of Cosmic Force turned into home straight with two-and-a-half length lead, a margin which she immediate increased on straightening, letting no other runner into the race, as the pack chased in vain.

Miss Force crossed the line with a 2.26 cushion back to the runner-up, Diamantina Rose, the $3.50 second favourite, the result further franking the promise being shown by the Sears filly.

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