She has been in tremendous form this spring and with success comes confidence and she had no hesitation in making a mid-race move in a contest that, up until then had been run at a snail’s pace, to make full use of Sound’s depths of stamina.
Kah urged the European-bred around runners to sit outside the leader Levendi (Pierro) and then proved superior in the run home to break a frustratingly-long run of minor placings since his arrival in Australia.
Sound had won seven of his 16 starts in his native Germany, including the G2 Oleander-Rennen and was runner-up in the G1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin.
He was beaten in the latter event by Best Solution (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who won the 2018 G1 Caulfield Cup for Godolphin two runs later, but it has been a different story for Sound.
Overdue reward
He was unplaced in that race and the G1 Melbourne Cup and now, 17 starts later, he has broken his Australian duck in the Zipping Classic.
“It’s just been in the last 18 months that he’s really started to look well. When he came over from Germany he’d had a season before we ran him in the Melbourne Cup and he looked that way too,” trainer Michael Moroney said.
“He took a while to really condition up and he has now and got really strong. He’s going terrific now and he deserved that.”
Sound (Ger)
Moroney was also quick to praise Kah’s initiative to put Sound into the race down the back straight.
“It was a great ride, it really was. Levendi took her into the race and he carted us in, which gave our horse his chance. It’s a slow-maturing family and I think he’s got another good preparation left in him,” he said.
“It’s a slow-maturing family and I think he’s got another good preparation left in him.” – Michael Moroney
Sound is raced by a number of long-time clients of Moroney, but none more so than Gerard Petersen.
“He’s been with me right from the time I started training, more or less, and Second Coming was one of the first ones he raced and he's been with us ever since,” Moroney said.
Second Coming (NZ) (Oak Ridge) won six races, including the G1 VRC Derby and the G1 Wellington Cup and finished third behind stablemate Brew (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) in the G1 Melbourne Cup.
Kah said she had no alternative than to head forward 1400 metres from home with the pace so slow.
“I really wanted to ride him quiet and chase something down, but obviously they were going too slow and he was ripping and tearing so I had to go forward,” she said.
“He deserved this and has been running some super races. He’s always been a keen horse, that’s just him, and it was never in doubt today.”
Brimham Rocks (GB) (Fastnet Rock) was 1.25l in arrears at the post in second with Future Score (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) third ahead of Attorney (Fr) (Makfi {GB}). The favourite Avilius (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) was next home and he looked to have every possible chance.
