Horse Racing

Peter Moody’s exciting Kiwi import King’s Rose further proved her potential to emerge as the Cox Plate 2011 winner this spring when she maintained her unbeaten record down under with a victory for the punters in the $200,000 Stocks Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley over the weekend.

King's Rose is looking to become the first mare in history to win the Stocks Stakes - Cox Plate double

Redoute’s Choice mare King’s Rose, a Group 1 winner back in New Zealand, rose to the challenge of her first assignment at the Valley, home to the $3 million Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) on October 22, and beat a quality field of fellow mares in the Stocks Stakes 2011.

It was her second start and second success in Australia since joining Moody’s Melbourne stables, King’s Rose having won the Group 2 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 27.

In a game display on Saturday, four-year-old King’s Rose ($2.70F) was given a well-timed ride by ace hoop Luke Nolen and gave the Luxbet punters a win with her close final-stride success over Greg Eurell’s last-start Let’s Elope Stakes winner Pinker Pinker ($3.60) while Lady Lynette ($7) finished nearly a length away third for the second year in a row.

“She’s a high class mare, she’s got plenty in the tank,” Moody said.

“They always spaced her runs in New Zealand because she was a lean type of filly and didn’t do well, so basically I didn’t train her into this, backing up off two weeks for the first time in a long time.”

With Moody originally uncertain whether to target the $2.5 million Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 15 or the Cox Plate 2011 with King’s Rose, her performance under weight-for-age conditions, albeit in mares-only company, on Saturday helped confirm a Cox Plate bid.

“I would think she’s got very good improvement and there’s every chance we might see her back here in a nice race in about six weeks’ time,” Moody said referring to the Cox Plate.

King’s Rose swiftly had her Cox Plate odds cut at Luxbet in from $26 to $21, a decent price according to Nolen who rates her as a genuine Group 1 chance this spring in Melbourne.

“Albeit it was a narrow margin (a head), but I think she’ll go on and win a better race this spring,” Nolen said.

Looking more likely for the Cox Plate than the 2011 Caulfield Cup now, King’s Rose has actually drifted out in the Caulfield Cup betting markets at Luxbet from $35 pre-Saturday to $41 post winning the Stocks Stakes.

Leading up to the Cox Plate, Moody is likely to give King’s Rose another run in the $500,000 Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 2, a race Stocks Stakes runner-up Pinker Pinker is also set to contest.

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2011 Stocks Stakes Results & Finishing Order

Moonee Valley Race 8 – 10/09/2011