Coolangatta and Bella Nipotina to continue females' good record in the Moir?

Since the turn of the Millennium, the 1000-metre race, which was given Group 1 status in 2013, has been won by some of the best-known fillies and mares of the past including unbeaten champion mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), who triumphed twice in 2011 and 2012, and G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}) was victorious in 2013.

Most recently, in 2017, She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain), who landed the G1 Golden Slipper S. the previous preparation, led home a trifecta of females in the race. Since her win, the race has been run four times, with two of them won by mares, with Viddora (I Am Invincible) winning it the season after She Will Reign, while Pippie (Written Tycoon), who landed it in 2020, was the most recent victor of the Group 1 contest.

This year’s race, a total of four mares and one filly are set to take their chance in the Group 1 and they are headed by 2020 G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner September Run (Exceed And Excel), who has showed her affinity for the idiosyncratic turns of Moonee Valley when she triumphed in the G1 William Reid S. last year. She will be aiming to become Chris Waller’s second winner of the race, with the trainer having taken it out for the first time with multiple Group 1 winner Nature Strip (Nicconi) in 2019.

Joining her is Tony Gollan’s three-time Listed scorer Isotope (Deep Field), who finished fourth in the G1 Stradbroke H. in June and comes into the contest off the back of a sixth-place finish in the G3 WW Cockram S. in August.

Meanwhile, impressive G3 Sir John Monash S. winner Mileva (Headwater) will be out to claim her first Group 1 when takes her chance on Friday night, having been narrowly denied a fifth stakes win on her most recent start in the Listed Carlyon S. on August 20.

Gallery: Some of the mares in this year's G1 Moir S., images courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Tough mare

The daughter of Headwater was beaten that day by the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai), who will be out to not only extend the mares' good record in the race, but also hand her trainers a first win in the Group 1 when she lines up from barrier one.

By Coolmore Stud resident Pride Of Dubai, Bella Nipotina has carved herself an admirable reputation as a consistent filly, with her victory in last season’s G2 Sapphire S. the headline act of the 5-year-old’s four stakes wins.

Bella Nipotina came close to breaking her Group 1 duck when she was narrowly beaten in the G1 Manikato S. over the 1200 metres at Moonee Valley on October 22 last year and her co-trainer David Eustace told TDN AusNZ that Group 1 would be the ultimate goal for the mare once again this season.

“You would be hard-pressed to find a tougher horse than her. I think it’s probably fair to say that she still has to prove herself at genuine Group 1 level, albeit she just missed out in the Manikato,” Eustace said of the mare, who will jump from barrier 11 with Craig Williams booked to take the ride.

“She’s a very good mare and we feel she has done everything right and she deserves to get that Group 1. She will be given quite a few opportunities to do it and, given the way she performed in it last year, the Manikato will be her main target this preparation and has been for a while and she will be spot on for that. She is certainly not without a chance on Friday, but everything will really have to go her way.”

Still improving

Meanwhile, Maher and Eustace, will also saddle last season’s talented juvenile Coolangatta (Written Tycoon) in the 1000-metre Group 1 on Friday night.

Coolangatta, who will also be joined in the race by her other stablemate Generation (Snitzel), returned as a 3-year-old with a promising first-up run in the G2 McEwen S. at Moonee Valley. A winner of the G3 Gimcrack S. and G3 BJ McLachlan S. last season, the daughter of Written Tycoon will once again clash with Rothfire (Rothesay) and Zoustyle (Zoustar), who got the better of the mare first-up.

Alongside her brace of Group 3 wins, Coolangatta was also victorious in the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic, while, on her final start as a juvenile, the daughter of Written Tycoon finished a good third in the G1 Golden Slipper S. in April and she will jump from barrier one with a lightweight of 50kg on her back.

“We were really happy with her first-up run and I think people here were a bit harsh on her when she got beat, but it was very much a first-up run leaving plenty in the tank for the rest of the season,” said Eustace.

“We think her fitness is spot on for the Moir and this has definitely been the main goal with the weight she gets from the other females and obviously the males.

“I would say fillies and mares' record in the race probably has something to do with Moonee Valley. You can get a cheap run there, on a tight track, so I would think that probably has a big bearing on why horses down the weights can make their mark.”

Eustace said while Coolangatta was a precocious juvenile, he expected to keep improving with age and believes we could yet see the best of her in the autumn, where she is likely to take aim at more Group 1s including the G1 Oakleigh Plate.

“Coolangatta has a really good gate to get that sort of cheapish run and hopefully she can pull it off. She has definitely furnished over the winter. She is about 15-20kgs heavier than she was in the last preparation and while she was incredibly precocious, she is actually quite a tall, leggy, narrow filly and that gave us a bit of confidence that she should go on,” said Eustace.

“I think we’ll find that she will be even better again in the autumn with another break down the line and that then opens up the doors for some improvement in a race like the Oakleigh Plate, you would think that would be right up her alley.”