It has taken a while for trainer Peter Moody to convince himself his consistent filly Spirits Dance is worth a bet.
But for the sake of her owners and the punters who have stuck with her for her past four runs, he'll continue to let her go around without him.
Spirits Dance scored her fourth win from as many starts at when she took out the Group Two Angus Armanasco Stakes at Caulfield and despite her immaculate form, she again started at attractive odds.
"I told her owner before she won the first time that she was flying," Moody said.
"But I haven't had a cent on her."
Spirits Dance ($5.50) repeated both the pattern and the result of her previous three wins, taking the lead early in the straight and easily holding off the $2 favourite Marianne to score by 1-1/4 lengths.
Metaphorical ($19), another of the five Moody runners in the nine-horse race, finished the same distance away in third place.
Despite always having possessed a high opinion of Spirits Dance, Moody said the filly had dented his confidence when well beaten in restricted company at Seymour early last spring.
"I thought `how's this happening' and sent her back to the farm for some work," he said.
Since then Spirits Dance has set personal bests at every start.
After beginning her winning sequence at Flemington in January she won at her first open filly's race at Caulfield then stepped up to Group Three company at the same track last start before scoring impressively in Saturday's Group Two.
The win also provided a boost to jockey Chad Schofield who recently joined the senior ranks a week ago after a successful, but eventful apprenticeship, with David Hayes.
Schofield's continual run-ins with stewards cost him more than 100 meetings through suspension last season.
He said he is yet to decide where he wants to establish himself, except that he won't be returning to Sydney where his father Glyn is in the top flight of riders.