A filly named after an American fighter pilot showed some courageous qualities of her own to land an important stakes victory at Randwick on Saturday.
Lining up for her third start in a month, Missy Cummings coped with a significant class rise to keep her perfect record in tact, posting a 1-1/4 length win over Catkins in the Listed James HB Carr Stakes (1400m).
Trainer Anthony Cummings owns the three-year-old in partnership with his wife Bernadette, who is responsible for her name.
"She is out of a mare called Lady Knockout, so my wife went looking for a name of a feisty lady and she found Missy Cummings," the Randwick trainer said.
"The filly is a feisty piece of work herself, so it's a good fit."
Missy Cummings had posted consecutive wins at Wyong coming into Saturday's contest and was specked in the betting from $26 to start $21.
She settled just behind the speed then pounced in the straight to score comfortably for Peter Robl.
Cummings said he was confident Missy Cummings would handle the step up to black type company after she won her first two starts over sprint trips despite being bred to run a middle distance.
"We threw her in the deep end and got the result," he said.
Missy Cummings is likely to head to the Scone Guineas next month before Cummings considers a winter carnival campaign in Brisbane.