Williams Confident Green Moon Will Run Well In 2014 Turnbull Stakes

Owner Lloyd Williams has revealed that he would be extremely disappointed if Green Moon does not finish in the top five places in the 2014 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington tomorrow.

Green Moon is chasing his second win in the Turnbull Stakes after taking out the 2012 edition of the race.

Green Moon is chasing his second win in the Turnbull Stakes after taking out the 2012 edition of the race. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia

Green Moon returned to his best form with three strong performances during his autumn campaign, including a second place finish behind Fiorente in the Group 1 Australian Cup (200m) at Flemington on March 8, and he started his 2014 Spring Racing Carnival campaign with a credible sixth in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 13.

Williams told Racing Ahead this morning that Green Moon is thriving as a seven-year-old and he is confident that the Montjeu entire will produce a strong performance in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) this weekend.

“I thought his run in the Makybe Diva was great,” Williams said.

“I am sure that he will run well tomorrow.

“I think that he doesn’t know how old he is; the way that he is conducting himself at Macedon he thinks that he is a three-year-old.

“If I had one horse in our stable at the moment that is putting his hand up and saying that I’m going well it is him.

“He is in particularly good order.

“He has really stepped up and I think that he will run a good race tomorrow.”

Williams also has Thought Worthy in the 2014 Turnbull Stakes field and he believes that the imported stayer is on the right track to return to the form that he showed in Europe when he won the 2012 edition of the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes (2414m).

Thought Worthy has had plenty of issues since arriving in Australia and finished at the tail of the field in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on September 20, but Williams is happy with the progress being made with the Dynaformer gelding and feels that he is capable of winning a race during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival.

“We have had a lot of trouble with him,” Williams said.

“He was a good horse in Europe and his right distance is probably the 2000 metres or the 2400.

“Last year we gave him a couple of runs and he wasn’t right, but he is a good horse and he will run a lot better tomorrow than the odds on offer.

“I’m not suggesting that he can win, but it is only around the corner until he does win.

“I think we have right this time and later in the month of October we might be able to win a reasonable race with him.”

The Turnbull Stakes has drawn a capacity field of 16 runners and Williams is hoping that the big field will generate plenty of early pace and give his two runners the opportunity to run home strongly in the final stages.

The four-time Melbourne Cup winning owner is not expecting Thought Worthy to factor in the finish, but he would like to see Green Moon stamp himself as a genuine contender for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) with a strong effort.

“I think that there is a fair bit of pace in the race and I think that they will be back out of the race and riding them for luck,” Williams said.

“I’m not expecting Thought Worthy to be in the 1-2-3, but I think that Green Moon is going to run a very credible race and I would be very disappointed if he did run in the 1-2-3-4-5 slot tomorrow.

“I would like to take Green Moon to the Caulfield Cup and he needs to step up tomorrow.”

Green Moon is currently available at 2014 Turnbull Stakes odds of $19, while Thought Worthy is the outside of the field at $151.

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Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.