Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller quinelled last year’s Doomben Cup with Beaten Up and Foreteller and has a chance to do the same in the 2014 edition of the race; with Junoob and Moriarty set to contest the Group 1 event at Doomben tomorrow.
Junoob will be making his Group 1 debut in the 2014 Doomben Cup this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
The duo started their 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival campaigns in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast on May 3 and Junoob was well-backed in the lead-up to the race and worked home fairly to finish fourth, while Moriarty made up ground late to finish fifth.
Waller said that both Junoob and Moriarty did not appreciate the heavy track at the Gold Coast in the Hollindale Stakes and is expecting an improved effort from both imported stayers in the 2014 Doomben Cup this weekend.
“I am very happy and they worked very well on Tuesday morning,” Waller said.
“I was there and saw them work and I could not have been satisfied with their work.
“They finished it off well and they both look very well.
“They will appreciate a better track; the heavy track at the Gold Coast didn’t suit when they ran fourth and fifth and if they can get a dead track or better look out.”
Junoob will be making his debut at Group 1 level in the Doomben Cup and has worked through the grades impressively since making his Australian racing debut in September last year.
The Haafhd gelding race fairly during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival and has improved significantly since winning the Schweppes Handicap (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens on February 1; winning the Might And Power Handicap (1900m) at Rosehill Gardens on February 15 before taking out both the Listed Randwick City Stakes (2000m) and Group 3 Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m) at the end of his 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival campaign.
The Waller team was bullish about the chances of Moriarty at the start of his autumn campaign and the Clodovil gelding has raced consistently, but has been unable to add another race win to his racing resume.
Moriarty performed strongly to finish third in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on February 22 and fourth in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Warwick Farm on March 8, but clearly did not relish wet tracks in both the Neville Sellwood Stakes and the Hollindale Stakes.
Junoob is currently available at 2014 Doomben Cup odds of $5, while Moriarty is priced at the respectable quote of $11.
