Leading Caulfield trainer Peter Moody will chance his hand and leave the unlucky Better Land in Sydney hoping to gain a start in the Group 1 $1m Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on September 13.
Caulfield trainer Peter Moody is hoping Better Land will join Bring Me The Maid in the Golden Rose Stakes. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Better Land was poll axed over the concluding stages and that cost the Shamardal colt any chance of winning when fourth to Scissor Kick in the Group 3 $125,000 Synergy FX Up and Coming Stakes (1300m) at Randwick last Saturday.
Jockey Glyn Schofield was winding up Better Land down the middle of the soggy Randwick straight when the wayward Liberation ran out abruptly on two occasions, interfering with him, taking away any winning chance he had.
Better Land was actually fifth across the line behind Liberation, third, and Valentia, fourth, who was also on the receiving end of his stalemates wayward antics.
Following the successful objections by the connections of Valentia and Better Land, both those colts were promoted ahead of Liberation who was relegated to fifth and barred from racing until he passes a stewards test.
Schofield was adamant that Better Lad would have won and the $75,000 winner’s cheque would have gone a long way to securing him a spot in the Golden Rose Stakes.
As it stands the $6,250 fourth prizemoney was only enough to place Better Land at number fifty-nine in the order of entry for the Golden Rose Stakes with $36,750 in kitty.
Moody has a high opinion of the promising colt and will keep him Sydney in the hope that many of the three year olds above him fall by the way side.
“If he doesn’t make the Golden Rose field there is a Listed race at Flemington over 1400 metres on the same day, so he’ll run in that race if he misses a start in Sydney,” Moody told TVN.
“I think he is a super colt. It’s is very unfortunate he got beaten the way he did.”
Moody’s disappointment was short lived when short priced favourite Bring Me The Maid came out and blitzed her rivals in the Group 2 $175,000 Coolmore Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) and is now very close to the top of the order of entry list for the Golden Rose Stakes.
“This filly is a pretty a good benchmark so we will just weigh it up in the next few weeks and we might have two good hopes come the Group 1 in three weeks,” Moody said.
Bring Me The Maid is currently fourth in the Golden Rose Stakes order of entry with $604,500 in prizemoney and is currently the equal $6 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au with the Gai Waterhouse trained Almalad who is fifth in the order of entry.
Better Land is also high up in the market order at $9 just behind the Chris Waller trained Brazen Beau and Nostradamus from the Team Hawkes stable both at $8.
