Trans-Tasman trainer Michael Moroney is hopeful he has plucked another quality filly out of his New Zealand base to plunder the riches on offer in Melbourne this spring.
Originally in the care of his New Zealand co-trainer Pam Gerard, Moroney saw plenty of potential in Coeur Volante (NZ) (Proisir) following her two trial placings and thought she would be an ideal candidate for his Flemington operation.
“We had her in New Zealand and we knew she was pretty good, so I put some good stable clients in over here and purchased her off the original owners and some of them stayed in,” Moroney told Racing.com.
The daughter of Proisir subsequently had two starts at Sandown as a juvenile last season, winning at her last start over 1300m.
Moroney has been impressed with the way she has developed as a three-year-old and is eyeing the Gr.1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield in November, and will kick-off her campaign in the Gr.3 Scarborough Stakes (1200m) at The Valley on Friday if she gains a start.
“We think she’s a pretty smart filly but it’s winter form and it’s hard to know if it’s going to match up, but we’ve always had a pretty high opinion of her,” Moroney said.
“When they announced the Thousand Guineas was going to be where it was, we just decided to give her a break and a month out.
“She’s come back well, she is a filly that doesn’t carry a lot but she’s a very athletic sort of filly.”
