Annabel Neasham heads into the final Group One of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival with a three-pronged attack on the All Aged Stakes and she will be hoping that a bit of misfortune could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
The most fancied of Neasham’s runners is Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel), who hasn’t raced since his runner-up effort in the Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1600m) at the end of February.
The four-year-old entire missed out on taking his place in the Gr.1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) last month, but Neasham said it wasn’t anything too serious that prevented him from running that day.
“He just had a slightly elevated temperature; he didn’t really miss any work,” Neasham explained.
“He’s fit and well, working well, as well as he normally does anyway. I think this is his race.”
Sportsbet has Mo’unga as the third pick in its market for the All-Aged Stakes at $5.50, behind joint favourites Forbidden Love and In The Congo, and Neasham agreed that he is the pick of her trio.
What could also be in Mo’unga’s favour on the weekend is the fact that he will be taking on a number of horses who are coming to the end of their autumn campaigns.
“He’s got the results on the board, he’s had one try over 1400m at Randwick and that was for a win, hopefully he can replicate that again,” Neasham said as she elaborated on Mo’unga’s hopes.
“He’s on fresh legs, a lot of these horses could be tired having raced on those very wet tracks, so hoping that we’re going there with the fresh horse.”
