A horse first prepared at the steeped in rich history Windsor House Stables at Lambourn that is now trained at Macedon Lodge in Victoria will run at Newcastle in New South Wales today on the Broadmeadow track.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Green Moon won three races in Europe as a three-year-old for then trainer Harry Dunlop, with the son of Montjeu scoring a hattrick at Leicester, Newbury and Newmarket over 2011m.
Two of those three wins came on right-handed tracks and today at Newcastle the entire will for the first time since coming down under race clockwise.
His maiden win came at Leicester, where he set the pace and proved too strong on the right-handed track for rider Frankie Dettori.
His second win came at Newbury, a left-handed track, where he again made the play and scored comfortably but this time was ridden by Jamie Spencer.
His last win significantly came on the right-handed Rowley Course at Newmarket in the Listed Fairway Stakes and Jamie Spencer had Green Moon tracking the pace then driven clear the closing stages.
I like the clockwise component of Green Moon and ability to run in or near the pace and see what can really stay and what cannot, as it will be a potential weapon today having drawn the outside gate in the G3 185K Newcastle Gold Cup (2300m).
I also note he won his hattrick over the space of five weeks, so thrives on racing and can handle a workload so should be an asset for the Team Williams assault on stamina events this spring in several states.
With Nick Hall ill, Brenton Avdulla will ride for the first time for Team Williams this afternoon.
Green Moon is a young untapped stayer with plenty ahead and his four length Newbury win came over the Godolphin colt Monterosso, which since has raced seven more times for three wins and a third.
One of the Monterosso wins came in the G2 King Edward VII Stakes (2414m) at Royal Ascot (Green Moon was a luckless fifth) and another at the magnificent Meydan racecourse in the G2 Dubai City of Gold (2505m).
The runner up at Meydan was Calvados Blues, which at its next start on the same track in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic (2423m) finished third to the now deceased Rewilding, the only horse to beat So You Think in Europe so far.
Monterosso at his last start finished a close up third in the G1 Dubai World Cup (2010m) behind the Japanese quinella of Victoire Pisa and Transcend, with significantly too the fourth finisher being Cape Blanco.
This is serious form folks with Cape Blanco having won his last two starts in USA at Grade One, in the Man O' War Stakes (2120m) at Belmont Park and the Arlington Million (2010m) at Arlington.
Green Moon has had three runs in Melbourne since coming to Australia, with some dash shown in the G3 Aurie's Star (1200m) then an awkward outing on the strathayr of Moonee Valley over 1523m.
Team Williams trialled him after that then lined up the four-year-old last start in an open 2000m at big roomy Flemington, a venue he will see several times if not this spring then certainly next year.
I liked the way he found the line in a race that a couple of his stablemates ensured was not a race for the faint-hearted.
He may have been beaten three and a half lengths but the winner was December Draw, which is three wins and a second beaten narrowly from four starts for trainer Mark Kavanagh since coming too him from Europe.
This gelding will be a clear cut Caulfield Cup favourite should he qualify with a win this weekend in the G3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m), so we again have a serious form thread.
Green Moon was nominated for the Naturalism but why run into December Draw again when a far softer G3 worth 60K more is available at Newcastle plus the 2300m and stake passes a few qualifying clauses at the same time too.
Team Williams send runners North for a purpose and the navy blue and white silks should go down a treat with Novacastrians.
Glyn Schofield, fresh of a tremendous piece of riding initiative to win the A$1 million G1 Golden Rose last weekend aboard Manawanui, will once again be atop the last start impressive winner The Verminator.
He is in a good headspace at the moment and the celebration well before the finishing line aboard Manawanui was a monkey well spent as far as he was concerned.
The turn of foot by the Chris Waller trained son of Jeune at the end of the 2100m at Wyong was a real eye opener and bettors that like the right rider on the right horse will relish the Schofield stats.
He has been aboard The Verminator eight times for three wins, four placings and a fourth so multiples bettors cannot afford to leave out this combination.
Waller finished second in the Newcastle Cup last year with Snow Alert, so would like to go one better and he also has entered the durable Bellagio Wynn that has won up to 2400m.
The trainer that beat Waller to win this race last year was Gai Waterhouse with Stratofortress and she has two other wins this century in the feature with Bianca (2008) and Agincourt Express (2001).
Gai will be represented by Essence Of Success today and this mare has won on all types of footing and up to 2200m, with Chris Munce to keep the ride from last start.
He asked a lot of the mare and from a fair way out but her second to The Verminator was very good albeit distant.
She will be 2kg better situated today but has drawn wide, so some Munce magic will be required and perhaps an element of tactical surprise.
Do keep in mind this campaign in eight starts that Essence Of Success has won four times and placed four times, so is another that bettors should never leave off their tickets.
The man that trained and travelled the mighty Balmerino culminating in a second to Alleged in the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe has two runners today and Brian Smith has already tasted victory in the Newcastle Cup this century.
Smith prepared the old wonder Bikkie Tin Blues to win in 2006 and his two runners, which will run the 2300m out no worries whatsoever, are the eight-year-old Hume and the seven-year-old Raeburn.
Hume with the blinkers off will run home hard in a true contest and is about ready to show some form again, after being away from the track for eighteen months and seven runs into this campaign.
Raeburn will wear the blinkers and is a trifecta chance from the ace, with the off pacer stayer luckless last start but having placed at his prior outing, which came five weeks after having finished third over 3200m at Listed level.
He may not have won since Boxing Day last year but will sit covered up on the inner here and run home.
Bart Cummings trained one of the deadheaters in High Cee in 2005 Newcastle Gold Cup and has the lightly tried Tamanu Park running today, which is one of just two last start winners in the field.
The gelding has won up to 2200m and placed at 2400m but must have decent footing to show its best.
Home On A Wing was luckless in the Tamanu Park race last start and being trained by Anthony Cummings, the father and son battle will go on.
Bettors that like the big overs may want to consider the hard to predict these days Viking Legend, which is already G1 placed in both a Victoria Derby (2500m) and a Randwick Guineas (1600m).
He also at this very same carnival two years ago finished second in the G3 Spring Stakes (1600m) for three-year-olds, when trained by Gai Waterhouse, so has track experience.
Enjoy the Cup.
