Moore to send lightly raced Petronius to Queensland
Gary Moore is looking forward to working with his elder brother John for the first time in more than three decades, but the Group 1-winning trainer wants to claim stakes success in his own right with promising three-year-old Petronius (Redoute’s Choice) before the partnership comes to fruition.
A last-start Sydney winner, Petronius was scratched from Randwick on Saturday because of a wet track and the Rosehill-based Moore will enact a back-up plan by sending the colt to Brisbane for this weekend’s Fred Best Classic (Gr 3, 1350m) at Doomben.
Connections have been forced to be patient with the $1 million Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale graduate, but Moore is confident the colt is about to start repaying his owners who include Arrowfield Stud principal John Messara and Japan’s Katsumi Yoshida.
“We didn’t want to run him on Saturday at Randwick on a heavy 9,” Moore said yesterday.
“He looks in great shape and the weather looks good up in Brisbane, so we thought we’d give him a chance at stakes level.”
Petronius won his maiden on the Kensington track last September and returned from a summer spell with a second at Warwick Farm on April 29 before leading throughout over 1400 metres at the same course two weeks later.
“I have always loved the colt since I was given him to train. It was just quite unfortunate that he had the tieback (operation), which held him back a little, but my plans were always to be very patient with the colt as he’s had a few issues along the way,” Moore continued.
“The way he’s looking at the moment and the way he’s racing, I think we’re going to get a good return on him.”
Petronius is also nominated for Saturday week’s Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) at Eagle Farm, but Moore wants to wait until after the Fred Best Classic before determining whether the colt will back-up, if indeed he makes the field.
“It was always on the cards to either go to Randwick on Saturday and then we’d go to the Fred Best. It wasn’t an afterthought, put it that way,” he said.
“It’d be a great result, but we’d have to back him up a week later if we did head to the Stradbroke. I’ve put in an acceptance for him, but we’ll see how he goes on Saturday and then we’ll speak to Mr Messara and the partners and go from there.”
This season will also signal Moore’s last as a solo trainer ahead of his partnership with his brother, who has been forced into retirement by the Hong Kong Jockey Club as he turns 70 this year.
The brothers will take on more boxes at Rosehill and increase the number of horses in work with the support of prominent Hong Kong owner Bon Ho, who races Southern Legend (Not A Single Doubt) with Caspar Fownes and the Les Bridge-trained Classique Legend (Not A SIngle Doubt) in Sydney.
“We haven’t worked together since 1986 when I rode for brother John in Hong Kong until I took up a contract to ride in France for the Head family, so we’re all excited. We’re starting to put things in place for how he likes to run things,” Moore said.
“I’m sure we’re going to learn a lot from him having him back here. To be in partnership, I am sure dad would be very proud.”
Gary has nothing but admiration for his brother’s training achievements and has no qualms about who will call the shots when the pair joins forces.
He said: “We’ve got a good umpire here with my son James, but brother John is always going to be my older brother and I always look upon him to give the orders.”