Trainer Peter Moody remains hopeful that Bring Me The Maid can turn around her form in the 2014 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield tomorrow.
Trainer Peter Moody is hoping that Bring Me The Maid can return to winning form in the 2014 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield this weekend. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Bring Me The Maid started her 2014 Spring Racing Carnival campaign with an impressive win in the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on August 23 and was an unlucky eighth in the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on September 13, but produced the worst performance of her career to date in the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 28.
Moody told Racing Ahead that he is still at a loss to explain the poor performance of Bring Me The Maid in the Thousand Guineas Prelude, but he is hoping that a couple of gear changes will help the Sebring filly return to her best form in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) tomorrow.
“She was woeful the other day and that is being kind,” Moody said.
“She got squeezed out of the race at the start and never ever really took her place thereafter and never travelled at any stage of the run.
“I am banking on the fact that she had lost a bit of confidence around horses and I have insured that she has been working in close quarters with other horses since.
“We have also put blinkers on her to give her that bit more confidence and she galloped strongly on the inside of another horse here on Tuesday morning.
“The other thing I have done is put a tongue tie on and that is probably more for my benefit than hers, just to alleviate any worry and I have never had a horse race worse in a tongue tie.
“If her work and her general being is any indication, yes she can turn it around.
“I know very few horses go from being beaten seven or eight lengths in a Group 3 to winning a Group 1, but there are no negatives at home.”
Bring Me The Maid has generally been settled towards the tail of the field during her racing career to date, but Moody revealed that he is hoping that jockey Luke Nolen may be able to take a slightly more forward position when she jumps from barrier four in the Thousand Guineas tomorrow.
“I think so,” Moody said when asked if he would like to see Bring Me The Maid ridden further forward.
“I will leave that to up to Luke, but I have in my mind that she was struggling with horses around her at the back of the field.
“Maybe if she can hold a more prominent up to a mile, that might aid her and slightly offset that thought.”
Bring Me The Maid is currently available at 2014 Thousand Guineas odds of $7 and is on the fourth line of betting from Lumosty ($4.20), Go Indy Go ($5) and Afleet Esprit ($5).
