Cover image by Dan Himbrechts courtesy of AAP Photos
Moroney produced Tivaci to claim the weight-for-age feature in his swansong performance before the stallion retired to Waikato Stud where he stands alongside Ocean Park (NZ), sire of Saturday’s winner Tofane (NZ).
The mare denied runner-up Pierata (Pierro) the perfect send-off in his final appearance for trainer Gregory Hickman, but the Aquis Farm-bound stallion lost no caste in his narrow defeat.
Moroney was at home in Melbourne on Saturday and when contacted by TDN AusNZ he drew comparisons between his two All Aged S. winners, who were both out of luck in their lead-up events.
“It’s a great result and we threw her in at the deep end when we decided to concentrate on the Group 1s and to have her win one is great,” he said.
Michael Moroney
“Tivaci should probably have won the G1 Newmarket the year he ran in it and Tofane should have run second, I wouldn’t say she should have won.
“He went on and won this race and now she has. She’s a pretty lightly-raced mare and only had the 14 starts, she’s only been racing for 18 months if that. She’s got another season in front of her and we can look forward to that now.”
“She’s got another season in front of her and we can look forward to that now.” – Michael Moroney
Tofane was ridden by Opie Bosson and he was able to stay on the tail of Pierata all the way.
“The draw helped her and we got in a beautiful spot following the horse to beat and we got into a dogfight in the straight. I wasn’t sure if I got up or not until I saw the screen when I got back,” Bosson said.
"Not much is happening back home at the moment, so it's good to be here and good to get a few results.
"I go back on Tuesday and then we have to have a bit of a discussion to see whether we move the family back to Australia or not. I've got a few things to sort out first."
Opie Bosson | Image by Dan Himbrechts courtesy of AAP Photos
Bosson has won five Group 1 races this season, including the Chipping Norton on Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and the Australian Derby on Quick Thinker (So You Think {NZ}).
In his final appearance before a career at stud at Aquis, Pierata hit the front 200 metres from home but was denied the fairy tale ending by a dogged Tofane. Fasika (So You Think {NZ}) took third from Super Seth (Dundeel {NZ}), who did well after a tardy beginning.
“I’ve ridden horses that have won more Group 1s, but I’ve never ridden one that puts everything on the line like he does,” Pierata’s jockey Tommy Berry said.
The funny side
Tofane is named after a mountain range in northern Italy, but it could have been so different for the mare whose mother Baggy Green (Galileo {Ire}) draws her name from the caps donned by Australian test cricketers.
“When we bought her she was unnamed and the big fiasco was going on with the Aussie cricket team so we thought we might call her Sandpaper. Some saw the funny side and some didn’t so we were outvoted,” Moroney said.
“When we bought her she was unnamed and the big fiasco was going on with the Aussie cricket team so we thought we might call her Sandpaper.” – Michael Moroney
Tofane was bred by Curraghmore Stud principal and was a private purchase by Moroney’s Ballymore Stables and a number of high profile partners, including Rupert Legh, Neil Werrett, Colin Madden and Gerard Peterson.
“What happened was that she wasn’t 100 per cent when scoped and Gordon withdrew her from the sale and he rang me up about her,” Moroney said.
“He said she had a problem, but shes never made a noise running around the paddock and he didn’t think it would worry her.”
Opie Bosson pats Tofane (NZ) as they return to scale | Image by Dan Himbrechts courtesy of AAP Photos
Tofane subsequently made her way to Moroney’s New Zealand operation run by Pam Gerard.
“He sent her to the stable at Matamata and she won her first trial which surprised Pam, because she was pretty green and didn’t know a lot,” he said.
“The next thing Gordon rang me saying two or three trainers wanted to buy her and he gave us first option. He told me what he wanted, which was a bit of money, but she has got a pedigree and we put a syndicate together and bought her.”
Tofane’s dam is a half-sister to the Group 1 winners Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}) and Youngstar (High Chaparral {Ire}) with the second dam the multiple European Group 1 winner User Friendly (GB) (Slip Anchor {GB}).
