Michael Lee
Saturday, April 11, 2009
It has been onwards and upwards for Mooring since his dismal debut last in February.
The Bel Esprit three-year-old from Michael Freedman’s yard has more than redeemed himself with three wins in a row, the latest scored in emphatic style in the $75,000 Kranji Stakes C-2 race (1200m) on Saturday.
Settled in midfield by jockey Danny Beasley, Mooring sailed home with a rattling run down the extreme outside to score going away by two lengths from a gallant Super Gold (Ric McMahon), with Be A Man (John Powell) third another length away. The winning time was a smart 1min 9.8secs, just 0.6secs outside Yorick’s eight-year-old record.Mooring (Danny Beasley) makes it three victories on the trot in smart time onSaturday.
Another exciting youngster prepared by Freedman, Ariem also won impressively and though it was only his second success, the two gallopers have followed parallel paths since their debut on February 13.
They have since both raced four times, pretty much around the same time, over shorter sprints over Polytrack, and when pushed to longer trips over turf, have both shown progressive qualities that could see them racing at a higher echelon in the near future.
While Freedman is casting an eye on the Singapore Derby Trial for four-year-old Ariem, he is leaning more towards the first Leg of the Three-Year-Old Challenge for Mooring.
“Like Ariem, he can be quite a handful in his races, but he’s really starting to mature mentally now and it shows in his races,” said Freedman.
“I wasn’t too worried about him stepping to the 1200m today but more the way the race was going to run.
“Danny gave him really huge wraps but I’d like to see how he pulls up before deciding on the next course of action. But the first Leg of the Three-Year-Old Challenge is a race I would strongly consider for him.
“I think today’s win has given me a lot more options anyway.”
Beasley was indeed heaping praise on Mooring at his post-race debriefing with the Australian conditioner.
“He was a lot more relaxed in his races now. I think he’s shown on the turf today a very good turn of foot and that shows he is a very good horse.”
Solid Impact (Vlad Duric) led from the jump and seemed to have all the favours upon straightening, but quickly folded once he was tackled at the 300m. Super Gold looked set to give McMahon his first Kranji win but he had not reckoned with Mooring’s late winning burst to settle for second.
Mooring is raced by the Mummify Stable and has now brought his earnings just a tick under the $90,000 mark.
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