By Tayla Dyke

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Mornington trainer Shane Nichols is hopeful his in-form filly Always Enuff (Capitalist) can make her presence felt when she lines up in the Lightning Stakes (Listed, 1050m) at Morphettville on Saturday.

The daughter of Capitalist (Written Tycoon) is shooting for a third consecutive win this preparation, having scored an impressive 1.5-length victory first-up at her home track on June 9, and backed up that performance with a gritty victory at Caulfield on June 28.

Those performances, along with her natural progression, have prompted Nichols to give the filly another crack at securing the all valuable black-type.

“She’s really come on since Caulfield,” Nichols told ANZ News.

“She’s a very talented three-year-old filly, but what she does do is just clock off a bit in her races. She puts them away easily enough and then just sort of, job done, so that’s a little bit frustrating and she will eventually throw a race away doing that. 

“She has really trained on.
She’s in great nick, having her nice and fresh. The track conditions shouldn’t worry her too much in Adelaide, obviously it’s going to be very wet.”

Always Enuff made her debut as a two-year-old in the Festival Stakes (Listed, 1000m), finishing unplaced behind Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau), and remained winless at her next two outings. She returned to break her maiden as a spring three-year-old, adding another win before being spelled. 

Now more mature, Nichols said the filly has flourished this preparation despite a minor foot issue.

“She is a little tricky to train and she has got her little idiosyncrasies but we’re happy enough with her,” he said.

“She had a bit of a deep–seeded abscess in her heel, and we’ve just been playing around with the shoeing. But I think more so than anything else, she’s physically matured and been able to cope with it a lot better. Just time has been her friend. She’s a very big, robust filly and she just appreciates a bit of time.”

Regular rider Zac Spain will again be aboard on Saturday, having partnered the filly in all but one of her ten career starts, including for three of her four wins. Nichols said there will be minimal instruction with the priority to be finding the best ground on what is expected to be a heavy track. 

“There will be no instructions for [Zac], we will leave him up to his own devices. But I would imagine at some stage, he probably wants to extract himself and get out towards the middle and further, that could be the tricky part, actually getting her into a good spot so she can find the best ground,” Nichols said.

Always Enuff was a $200,000 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale buy for Supreme Thoroughbreds from Newhaven Park, and was subsequently purchased by Shane Nichols Racing for $300,000 at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, with Supreme retaining part ownership of the filly. 

She is the second foal out of unraced Reward For Effort (Exceed And Excel) mare Enuff Effort, herself a half-sister to Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner and now Woodside Park Stud sire Rich Enuff (Written Tycoon).

“She’s won just over $273,000, because she won a $100,000 Inglis Race Series bonus at Bendigo winning her maiden. It doesn’t appear in her record, but she’s won $100,000 more than appears, so she’s getting up towards $300,000 in prize–money,” Nichols said.

“But black type is obviously the desired thing for any filly, and especially one with a little bit of pedigree. If you can get that black type, it’s very valuable, because you hold it for the rest of their racing life.

“We certainly think she’s got the capabilities to make that step to stakes level, and Saturday will be the first opportunity she’s had where I think she is genuinely a chance at a stakes race.” 


Always Enuff was rated a $14 chance on Thursday afternoon, a quote Nichols feels underrates her.

“She is over the odds, certainly each–way,” the trainer said. “I think a couple of my guys have already had something on. I think she is overs, but that’s for the market to determine. 

“There’s a couple of nice horses in there obviously, and they’re all going to be presented with what we’re assuming is going to be a very wet track and very difficult circumstances, so it could be tricky.”

Should she succeed on Saturday, Nichols said the filly would likely be aimed at similar stakes contests in the spring.

“She’s a very good short–course horse, so we will follow the opportunities to run in stakes races over 1000 to 1100 metres will be ideal. There’s not that many of them, but that’ll certainly be our intention,” Nichols said.

Nichols also has an affinity with the offspring of Capitalist and, while he acknowledges the sire’s progeny can have their quirks, he believes the Newgate Farm-based sire is capable of producing top-quality horses.

“[Always Enuff] is very typical of the Capitalist breed.
Personally, I’ve had quite a few and I’m still actively buying them. But you do know when you buy one that, particularly the fillies, you have to be a little bit gentle with them because they can be a bit mentally fickle,” Nichols said.

“Most of them are, but once you work out how they want to be treated they are good. For example, [Always Enuff] is a barrier blanket horse and is a bit tricky in the gates. 

“But once you work them out, it’s certainly easier because they’re generally athletic, quick racehorses who enjoy stable life and most of them eat very well. I’ve had probably half-a-dozen Capitalists or maybe more and we still are happy to buy one if we find the right one.” 

Nichols was active at each of the sales this season, purchasing 20 yearlings to join his Mornington stable. 

Among the more high–profile of those purchases include a filly by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) out of Group 1 winner Oohood (I Am Invincible) which fetched $380,000 at Inglis Premier, as well as a $200,000 filly by Newgate Farm freshman Wild Ruler (Snitzel), and a well-regarded filly by Home Affairs (I Am Invincible). 

“We bought 30 last year and then we cut it back to 20 this year, and there are definitely a couple of nice ones there. There’s a Wild Ruler filly that I think is going to be pretty sharp, and a Home Affairs filly that I think looks like it’s up and about,” Nichols said.

“[The Wootton Basset filly] has had two preps, just going back to the paddock. She’ll get an opportunity to race early. I think she’s probably more so an autumn filly than a spring filly, but she’s going through a massive growth spurt at the moment. She’s a lovely filly to deal with on a day-to-day basis.”