Trainer Peter Morgan won’t be changing tactics with his speedy filly Eloping and the instructions will be to ‘let her run along’ in the Group 2 $175,000 Bollinger Champagne Classic (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Eloping is set to the lead again in the Champagne Classic after her all the way win in the Royal Randwick Stakes, above. Photo by Steve Hart.
Eloping has won four times from seven outings, all from the front, and Morgan can’t see any sense in changing her racing pattern at this point even though he feels that the Choisir filly wold be better suited ridden back in the field..
“There doesn’t seem to be any point in restraining her back in the field,” Morgan told The Courier-Mail.
“I actually think she would be a better racehorse ridden back in the field but she just jumps out and runs.”
Eloping has been in work since December and even though Morgan has thought about giving her a break, he has been reluctant to send her out while she is still racing well and on the improve.
“She is only a two-year-old and I will admit there were several occasions when I was going to spell her,” Morgan said.
“But she never goes sore and doesn’t seem to have had much of a growth spurt.
“She hasn’t changed at all and just keeps improving and really wanting to run. It is quite remarkable really but I do think she just improves with each run.”
Eloping has collected over $700,000 in prizemoney for her owners, courtesy of the $171,700 winning cheque from her win in the $250,000 UAM P/L VOBIS Gold Rush (1000m) at Bendigo on March 15 and the $369,750 she picked up for winning the Group 3 $500,000 Girvan Waugh Royal Randwick Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 19, the second day of ‘The Championships’.
Morgan, who trains in partnership with Craig Widdison, can’t believe the heights his filly has reached after setting out to win a maiden and then target the VOBIS race at Bendigo.
“To be honest, I just wanted to win a maiden with her and also a VOBIS race at Bendigo,” Morgan said.
“But it’s been such a roller-coaster ride with her and I have enjoyed every minute.”
A good performance by Eloping on Saturday will tempt Morgan to stay on in Brisbane for the rest of the Winter Carnival with the Group 2 $250,000 BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on May 24 also on the agenda.
The Champagne Classic for two year olds has attracted fourteen nominations including Time For War from the Gerald Ryan stable, Chris Waller’s Brazen Beau, Mohave and Shaumari from the John O’Shea stable, smart local filly Stroak and the unbeaten Furbish.
