Michael Moroney has picked up his second feature of the day, as Buffalo River (+270) led all the way in the Group 3 Moonga Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Celine Gaudray has taken the reins in his last three starts, reaping the rewards of what’s becoming a terrific association, scoring victory two-back in the Listed Testa Rossa Stakes (1400m) at the same course and distance on September 23.
It was another front-running special from Gaudray, as Buffalo River pinged the lids to lead throughout, never allowing rivals to get within reach of the seven-year-old in a rich vein of form.
Climbing Star (+380) and Cause For Concern (+850) were the only real challengers late, however, they were playing for second as Buffalo River was already off and gone with the prize.
2023 Group 3 Moonga Stakes Replay – Buffalo River | T: Mike Moroney | J: Celine Gaudray
Michael Moroney spoke for the second time at Caulfield after having success with Coeur Volante in the Thousand Guineas Prelude earlier in the day.
He referenced the supreme ride by Gaudray and crediting the war horse for a change in form.
“She (Celine Gaudray) did a perfect ride,” said Moroney.
I could tell before they turned for home that he was travelling easily still so I thought it’d take a good one to run past him because the other day he was off the bridle and she possibly got a couple of sections a little bit wrong but today it was just picture perfect I thought.
“We decided to take the ear muffs off and since we’ve done that it’s certainly livened him up and we’ve trained him on the treadmill a bit, changing things round a bit.
“They say you can’t teach old dogs new tricks but you can.”
Gaudray was out of breath as she returned to scale but was impressed with how he travelled throughout the race.
“I’m still trying to catch my breath from bringing him back to the mounting yard,” said Gaudray.
“He’s obviously a hard-going horse so I just try to keep him as happy as I can on the bridle and once he kicked away he was actually very very strong.”
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