Eye Liner was remembered by the Bundamba Race Club, when the annual race named in her honour was run at Ipswich on Saturday last.

The best filly ever bred in Queensland was foaled 54 years ago on the Darling Downs at Lyndhurst Stud; she was by Smokey Eyes from the Newtown Wonder mare, New Venn.

There was lots of speed in her pedigree and Eye Liner used it at every opportunity, she was simply brilliant.

It was ironical that her first race start was at Eagle Farm in the Mac Dougall Stakes,as the MacDougall family had once owned Lyndhurst Stud where she was bred years earlier, it was where The Buzzard stood as a sire.

Eye Liner won that opening race, it was more like a procession, her winning margin was seven lengths, starting at 3-1, she had a further nine runs as a two year old starting at odds on thereafter.

After her fifth start she was allotted 60 kg, 9 stone 6 pounds, she raced on three successive Saturdays, the following week it was 66 kgs, and the next week 69 kgs,10 stone 12 pounds.

It would seem as if the handicapper of the day was hell bent on crucifying her, but they couldn’t break her heart or her spirit.

The Champagne Stakes at Randwick was her next assignment, Reisling had just won the Golden Slipper Stakes, and Citius had finished third.

This was to be her greatest test to date, she had won eight races in succession, surely she must have been coming to the end of her tether.

She had an advantage over her two rivals as the Champagne Stakes was run at set weights, which would have been a luxury for her.

The race created more attention than the Doncaster that year, Eye Liner defeated Reisling by a neck, with Citius a half neck away third, run in record time.

Finally the bubble burst when she took on open company in T M Ahern Stakes, failing to run a place at 3-1 on.

As a brood mare she left nothing of any note, the hard campaign of racing with big weights had taken its toll, as you are aware horses are not made of steel.