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Mosheen towels them in the Australian Guineas

3rd Mar 2012

Mosheen towels them in the Australian Guineas

Mighty three-year-old filly Mosheen has defied the extreme outside barrier and a deteriorating track at Flemington to win the Group One VRC Australian Guineas (1600m) in impressive style.

The connections of Mosheen ($250,000 2010 Easter, 3f Fastnet Rock-Sumehra) were dealt a blow earlier in the week when the daughter of Fastnet Rock drew barrier 20 in the Group One event, but a brilliant ride from jockey Danny Nikolic had the filly travelling well throughout the race and when let down in the straight she dashed away to a three length win over fellow Inglis yearling sale graduates Strike The Stars and Mister Milton.

“Just unbelievable, that’s given me a great great thrill,” said an emotion Robert Smerdon after the race.

“We thought we had her flying, then we spat our dummies when the barrier [20] came out.

“Danny rode her work eight days ago at Sandown and he said ‘I haven’t ridden a horse that worked like that in years,” Smerdon said.

Nikolic somehow had Mosheen travelling sweetly on the rail just worse than midfield at the 1200m mark after jumping from the outside barrier in the 16 strong field, a big help to the filly joining fellow recent Easter graduates Rock Classic, Miss Finland, Al Maher and Reset on the Australian Guineas honour roll.

“I’ve got to see the replay I don’t know how he [Danny] got into that spot,” Smerdon added.

“Wins at the highest level are always very special, but Flemington, it’s a time-honoured race, there’s a whole lot of things connected to it I suppose, but it’s just a really really big buzz.

“She’s obviously very very talented, she’s never run poorly, she’s always run at the highest level, to my mind she’s a star and she’s proved it.

“The plan’s always been to go to Sydney for the Coolmore and there’s the Doncaster beyond that, this was her first aim and I think we’ll just enjoy it for the time being,” the trainer indicated.

Part-owner Katsumi Yoshida was unable to make it down to Melbourne for the Group One event, but was on the phone with assistant Yusuke who cheered on the winner alongside fellow part-owner Phil Sly.

“This is more important to him [Katsumi] than a Group One runner over in Japan and I’ve never heard a bloke squeal on the phone like he did just then,” Sly told TVN after the victory.

“It means a lot to all of us and on the back of all the people that have wished me the best of luck over the past few days it’s just great, and for everyone that suffers a little bit there’s always this sort of thing and I hope it happens for a lot of guys.

“The important thing is that we’re all here, we can all enjoy it. This horse is for a lot of other people other than me now and she is a great filly,” Sly added.

Certainly the team at Bylong Park Thoroughbreds were cheering Mosheen loudly from their Bylong property having sold the multiple Group One winner at the 2010 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

Bylong Park will also offer Mosheen’s yearling half-brother by Zabeel at this year’s Easter Sale as Lot 413.

Waikato Stud would also be proud with the effort of Strike The Stars to finish second the Guineas, having sold him for $80,000 at Easter two years ago and having his brother coming to Easter as Lot 39 next month.

For catalogues and information on the 2012 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which will be conducted on April 10 to 12 in Sydney, is available at www.inglis.com.au