Golden Slipper winner Mossfun has been transferred to the Team Hawkes Melbourne stables at Flemington to prepare for the up-coming Spring Carnival.
Mossfun winning the 2014 Golden Slipper at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Co-trained Wayne Hawkes said the team decided to send Mossfun to Melbourne is search of the softer tracks and bypass the hard tacks that are being experienced in Sydney at the moment.
“Sydney tracks at the moment are rock hard, my father and brother are praying for rain so the tracks are not as hard,” Wayne Hawkes said.
“Fortunately we don’t have that issue down here (Melbourne), we’re lucky we have the two state operation and can switch them around.”
Mossfun proved her class and ability when she overpowered Blue Diamond Stakes winner Earthquake to take out the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill in April.
While Mossfun was able to beat the favourite Earthquake, her wn in the Golden Slipper was not unexpected with the Mossman filly racing in good form in the run up to the world’s richest race for two year olds.
Mosssfun kicked off her Autumn Carnival campaign with a win in the Group 3 $150,000 Widden Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on February 15 then won again beating the Lee Curtis trained Press Report in the Group 2 $250,000 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on March 1.
At her final Golden Slipper lead up race, Mossfun suffered her only defeat from five starts when second to Earthquake in the Group 2 $300,000 Parramatta Leagues Club Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 22.
The Mossman filly is yet to race in Melbourne with all her five starts in Sydney and the experience of being trained the left handed way of going will be very beneficial if she was to race during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
“She’s never been to Melbourne previously but she has galloped Melbourne way in Sydney,” Hawkes said.
“We wanted to get her down and give her a look at the place sooner rather than later.”
Team Hawkes has yet to finalise a Spring Carnival program for their stable star but are envisaging a light campaign for the riding three year old filly.
“There’s not that much around for sprinting fillies in the spring so we’d be more inclined to give her less rather than more,” Hawkes said.
“We haven’t planned anything with her, we’ll just see how she comes up. She doesn’t have to improve much.”
“She’ll stay in the shorter races.
“Right at the end of the Carnival there’s the Coolmore over 1200m.”
