Moroney looks for Hurry to bounce back
Mike Moroney rates Hurry a Group-class filly and the trainer is looking for the three-year-old to bounce back from a perplexing Australian debut when she heads to Warwick Farm.
Moroney has sent the former New Zealand filly north from his Melbourne base to Sydney for Wednesday’s TAB Handicap (1400m), adamant the three-year-old is considerably better than her unplaced effort in her first Australian appearance at Sandown last month.
“She’s shown us that she’s Group class,” Moroney said.
“We would be shaking our heads if she didn’t take that to the table tomorrow.”
Hurry was sent out the $3.70 favourite in a benchmark-64 over 1300m on March 15 but after sitting in the box seat the filly failed to make an impression in the straight, finishing ninth.
“If she brings her real form she can win,” Moroney said.
“We can’t give any real reason why she did what she did first-up. We really thought she would win.
“She has trained on particularly well, but the only worrying thing is that we couldn’t fault her going into her last run and she went terrible.”
Hurry arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning and Moroney said the filly had travelled up well.
Hurry raced four times in New Zealand, winning her maiden at her third start at Ellerslie in December last year before running second to subsequent Group One Levin Classic winner Hall Of Fame in a 1400m-race at Ellerslie on December 26.
“She’s done all her racing right-handed before in New Zealand and we think the sting out of the ground is going to help,” Moroney said.
“We couldn’t be happier with her.”
“There’s a chance if she comes through this well she’ll head to Queensland chasing black type.”
The meeting also features the return of Deanne Panya in the Rising Stars event for apprentices.
Panya was in contention for the junior title when she broke her collarbone and suffered facial injuries in a fall from Sebring Express in the Widden Stakes in late January.
She rides Bells Of War in the 1200m-benchmark race with the mare having her first start for trainer David Pfieffer having been formerly trained by Con Karakatsanis.