Fields Of Courage (NZ)
4 g Savabeel – Pander by O’Reilly
O: Ballymore Stables (Aust) Pty Ltd (Mgr: M D Moroney), R & C Legh Racing Pty Ltd (Mgr: R P Legh) & M B Lee
B: Bloomsbury Stud
T: Michael Moroney & Glen Thompson
S: 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale V: Sledmere Stud P: P Moroney / C Bruggeman / Hong Kong Bloodstock, $425,000
W: Sportsbet Photo Finish Refund Maiden Plate, 1300m, August 28, Sandown–Hillside
The Michael Moroney and Glen Thompson-trained Fields Of Courage (Savabeel) made an instant impression on his belated debut, breaking his maiden in impressive fashion in a 1300-metre event at Sandown-Hillside on Wednesday.
Ridden by Mark Zahra, Fields Of Courage produced a late finish to down $3.50 favourite Athanatos (I Am Immortal) by a length with Mollify (So You Think) finishing a further two lengths adrift in third.
“He couldn’t have been more impressive,” said Glen Thompson, who was enjoying his first victory since going into a training partnership with Mike Moroney. “It’s good to finally get him to the races as he’s always shown a fair bit at home.
“Mark has done a fair bit on him. He did his jump-outs last time in and again this time and he was really keen on him. It’s really good when you can get a good jockey on, and he gave him a gun ride.
“He’s definitely a horse with upside. It’s frustrating it took so long to get him to the races, but when they win like that, it’s all worth it.”
Running in the colours of one of the stable’s biggest supporters, Ruper Legh, Fields Of Courage was a $425,000 buy for Paul Moroney, Catherine Bruggeman, and Hong Kong Bloodstock from the Sledmere Stud draft at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
He is the second winner from as many to race out of Pander (O’Reilly), herself a half-sister to multiple Group winner Precedence (Zabeel).
Fields Of Courage once again exemplifies the potency when Savabeel (Zabeel) is mated with daughters of O’Reilly (Last Tycoon). To date, this nick has produced 171 winners from 228 runners and they are headed by nine elite-level scorers and 33 stakes winners in total.