Everest-bound Tofane heads up Moroney's spring ambitions

While she doesn't enjoy the profile of some of her likely rivals in The Everest, as a winner of the G1 All Aged S. in the autumn, Tofane was always in a strong position to garner interest from slotholders.

The past two winners of the All Aged, Trapeze Artist and Pierata, have both competed with credit in The Everest the following spring, with the former finishing second in 2018 and Pierata fifth last year.

With three slotholders expressing an interest in Tofane, Moroney received the assurance he needed to target her at the $15 million race on October 17.

"We always thought given a few others had retired, with what we saw in the autumn, she was going to be up to it," he told TDN AusNZ.

"The fact is that she has won right-handed and handled all sorts of ground and she had good form in the TJ Smith and was a bit luckless in the Newmarket. We were pretty confident she was the right type of mare."

The connections, headed by Rupert Legh, intended to give her one run this time in before receiving final submissions of interests from slotholders. Her close-up third in the G2 Bobbie Lewis Quality convinced everyone that she was on track for the spring.

"We have always had that interest in her and it was always a matter of getting through that first start, to make sure she was back on track," Moroney said.

"That was a good effort, probably as good as she has gone first-up. Once we knew she was on track, we were confident enough to say we were going to fire ahead. We had three people interested and we gave a bit of a deadline yesterday, and we ended up looking at all the alternatives and decided to run with Yulong."

The ownership group and Moroney have already got a relationship with Yulong through the deal struck to stand G1 CF Orr S. winner Alabama Express at Yulong's Victorian operation this year.

Yulong has been a slotholder since The Everest was first run in 2017, and in 2018 tasted success in that role with Redzel's (Snitzel) second victory in the race. Redzel was its runner again last year when eighth. Moroney said he was impressed with the rigour Yulong had brought to the selection process.

"They approached us a while back and they have done all the due diligence on the sectional times etc. They had her right up there. I think one of the things they did mention was her durability. She can race right-handed and she can travel. Every time she had been up against these better sprinters, her sectional times have been terrific," he said.

The fact that the race is likely to be run at a strong tempo with the likes of Nature Strip (Nicconi) and Rothfire (Rothesay) already confirmed as starters, was also appealing, as was the possibility of a rain affected track.

"They just saw that it will be run at a true speed, and if we do happen to get the rain, as has been the norm of late, she is the type of mare who could run over the top of them," he said.

"It's good to see there is a bit of confidence around her, outside of our own confidence in her."

Table: Slotholder's runners at present

Tofane shapes up better than ever

From Moroney's perspective, Tofane is in better shape than she has ever been at any previous point of her career.

"She has really matured now and that's the first time I can say that about her. With all the travelling and racing we have done, we are going to get her to her peak this season. This should be her best year and she has certainly got stronger," he said.

"She was mentally pretty fragile in her early days, but the travelling and all that has really helped her. She has always been one of those jobs that required time, physically and mentally."

Moroney will travel to Sydney to oversee her campaign along with a staff member. The logistics and time required to organise that will likely mean her final lead-up run will be in the G2 Gilgai S. at Flemington on October 3, two weeks before The Everest.

A decision on a jockey for Tofane will be made in the next week or so.

Spring opportunities beckon for Harlech

She won't be the only Moroney-trained runner in Sydney this spring, with Harlech (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) set to target the $7.5 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill on October 31.

The 4-year-old is on the precipice of having his first Australian start in Saturday's G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S. at Caulfield, where he is first emergency.

James Cummings has indicated Roheryn (Lonhro) will likely run in the G3 Bill Ritchie H. at Randwick, meaning Harlech will gain a start in the Caulfield feature.

"It would be great if we could get in. We really want to use this to make an assessment on the Golden Eagle. We are pretty keen to get to Sydney for that. This race would work in well. It would be nice to see how he competes against these Group 1 horses," Moroney said.

A Group 2 winner back in New Zealand when trained by Moroney and Pam Gerard, Harlech boasts two Group 1 placings in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas behind Catalyst (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) and the G1 Levin Classic behind Travelling Light (NZ) (El Roca).

"He certainly looked a good horse on his day in New Zealand and had excuses in his last run there. He had bone chips in his front fetlock joint, which we have since had removed. He seems a different horse now that that has happened," Moroney said.

"We couldn't be happier with his work on the track and at the jump-outs and we are interested to see what he can do raceday."

Stablemate Buffalo River (USA) (Noble Mission {GB}) was balloted out of the Rupert Clarke S. and will resume in a 1400 metre race at Caulfield next week with a view towards the G1 Toorak H. and the G1 Cantala S.

Chapada on Cups path

Moroney has multiple Group 1-placed stayer Chapada (Bullet Train {GB}) resuming in the G3 MRC Foundation Cup (2000 metres) on Saturday after a short freshen up from an early winter campaign.

"We only gave him a week in the paddock and we did a bit of dressage for a while. A bit of a mental change for him. He'll take good improvement out of it, but in saying that, he's really a mile-and-a-half horse," Moroney said.

"We feel that this is going to be his best campaign. A bit like Tofane, he's finally got strong and worked it out. He needs to improve by two or 3l to be up with those better stayers. But there is a chance he can, so we'll just see how far we get with him."

In-form mare She's A Thief (NZ) (Showcasing {GB}) tackles the G3 How Now S. on Saturday looking for her first stakes win at what will be her ninth run of the campaign.

"She's been out doing dressage as well. It's a bit of a change of scenery as we are deep into her preparation but she is really good. She will run really well," he said.

"The more I look into the race, the more I like her. She's a mare who is well-weighted and she makes her own luck and that's big help at Caulfield."