Dissident returned to racing with an outstanding win in the Memsie Stakes, but trainer Peter Moody believes that the talented entire is even better suited in the 2014 Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington tomorrow.
Dissident has the chance to record back-to-back Group 1 victories in the 2014 Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington this weekend. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Moody told Racing Ahead this morning that Dissident has come through his impressive first-up victory in excellent condition and revealed that the son of Sebring has worked extremely well in the lead-up to the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m).
Dissident is a clear favourite in Makybe Diva Stakes betting markets and Moody said that there will be no excuses for the four-year-old if he is unable to reproduce his Memsie Stakes form this weekend.
“He has come on well and his work has been good, certainly better than it was leading into the Memsie so I hope that is not a negative,” Moody said.
“I felt that he was going to be better suited at Flemington and over the mile, he exceeded my expectations there and he has trained on nicely for it.
“He goes to the races with no excuses and no reasons not to run well again.
“That first morning when we galloped him here when he we brought him down from Sydney, Moment Of Change absolutely thrashed him on track.
“We blamed two reasons, one was the shifting ground because it was wet earlier in that week and the other was that he had trouble getting on his Melbourne leg.
“Subsequently since then his work has been on firm ground and he hasn’t had any trouble tracking the right way, so much so that in his gallop on Tuesday morning in company he was super impressive.
“I am wanting to read positives into that and let’s hope we are post Saturday.”
There is very little speed on paper in the 2014 Makybe Diva Stakes field, but Moody is confident that the lack of early tempo will not be an issue for Dissident in the Group 1 event.
Dissident has shown plenty of tactical versatility during his racing career to date and Moody said that he would not be surprised if jockey Ben Melham elected to take up the running on the talented entire, just like Jim Cassidy did when Dissident took out the Group 1 Royal Randwick Guineas (1600m) in March.
“You would think that Late Charge might go forward (who has since been scratched), but bearing in mind he led all the way in the Randwick Guineas, so that is not a concern,” Moody said.
“The good thing about having this horse in weight-age races is that he has the ability to adapt no matter the conditions.
“He took a sit in the race the other day and he can take up the running if need be.
“It is not a concern of ours and it is more of a concern for others than ours.”
Dissident is currently available at 2014 Golden Rose odds of $3 and is a clear favourite from Boban ($4.20) and Puissance De Lune ($6).
