Annabel Neasham has elected to head to the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday with Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel) in preference to the Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.
While the Warwick Farm trainer believes the son of Savabeel would favour the Turnbull trip, an eye towards his future targets sealed her decision.
“We are going to stay in Sydney,” Neasham told RSN.
“I would love to win a Turnbull, and he is probably better suited by the Turnbull, but his grand final could be a Golden Eagle (A$7.5 million, 1500m) or a Cox Plate (Gr.1, 2040m).
“If we stretch him out for the Turnbull trip, it is going to be too tricky to come back in trip to the Golden Eagle with a horse like him.
“Going to the Epsom, it will be tricky with the top weight, but it keeps the door open to then go either way, depending how he runs.
A two-time Group One winning son of Savabeel, Mo’unga will shoulder 57kg top-weight and jumps from barrier 13 but Neasham isn’t fazed by the wide draw.
“I am not worried about the gate. He has often drawn out and I would rather be out then in, especially in a big field,” she said.
“Tommy (Berry, jockey) knows the horse pretty well so he won’t need many instructions.”
Mo’unga heads into Saturday’s feature mile in good form, having won the Gr.1 Winx Stakes (1400m) first-up at Randwick before running second behind Incentivise in the Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
While the entire hasn’t flattered in his work at home, Neasham said that is one of his trademarks.
“He is quite a hard horse to read at home because he has never set the world on fire in his gallops,” she said.
“I think that is what makes him so good, he saves it all for raceday, he is a proper racehorse in that sense.
“He looks amazing, he has got a coat on him like a seal. He looks the best he ever has, in my mind.
“He handles his racing really well and is a very sound horse, it’s an absolute pleasure to have him.”
Neasham, who also trains Cox Plate favourite Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux), said she is leaning towards a tilt at the Golden Eagle as the main aim for Mo’unga, but she is keeping her options open.
“He is only a four-year-old once and it is very good prizemoney, but if we do change tack then the Cox Plate is there as an option,” she said.
Mo’unga sports the colours of Aquis, who purchased the colt for $325,000 out of the Waikato Stud draft from Book 1 at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales.
