Comeback trainer Peter Moody has made a surprise call to keep his gun three-year-old Glenfiddich fresh and head straight into the 2020 Caulfield Guineas next month without another lead-up for the Memsie Stakes placegetter.
Trainer Peter Moody won the Caulfield Guineas a decade ago with Anacheeva (2010). Photo: Taron Clarke.
A progressive Fastnet Rock colt, the former Robbie Griffiths-trained Glenfiddich made his three-year-old debut last weekend at Caulfield when running third to Adelaide giant Behemoth in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) for his new trainer Moody.
Runner-up the start prior back in April behind King’s Legacy in Randwick’s Group 1 Champagne Stakes over the mile, the youngster was the first three-year-old to run in a Memsie Stakes in over a quarter of a century.
It was an eye-catching finish behind the older horses from the Mornington Sires’ winner, with Moody opting to keep him unraced between now and his next-up target in the Group 1 $2 million Neds Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 10.
Moody chases his second Caulfield Guineas success following his 2010 win by Anacheeva and is happy to take a non-traditional approach with Glenfiddich’s campaign a decade on.
“He was super in the Memsie, the three-year-old taking on the older horses,” Moody told esteemed racing journalist Andrew Bensley this week.
“He’ll more than likely go to the Caulfield Guineas now without another start, unless I think he needs one condition-wise in the interim.
“If there was an option, you’ve got the Guineas Prelude a couple of weeks out, or even the Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley.
“I’ll keep them up my sleeve but I’ll just monitor that in the next few weeks.”
The Group 3 $250,000 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) runs on September 26, while Moonee Valley’s Group 2 $200,000 Stutt Stakes (1600m) runs the evening before as part of the A.J. Moir Stakes twilight meeting.
Current all-in Caulfield Guineas odds at Ladbrokes.com.au are led by the Danny O’Brien-trained Flying Award ($7), who ran a first-up second in the Group 3 H.D.F. McNeil Stakes when narrowly beaten on Memsie Stakes Day.
Glenfiddich can be found further down the markets at $14.
Caulfield Guineas first acceptances, along with those for the Thousand Guineas and Cox Plate, close next Tuesday on September 8.
Click here for the latest futures betting on the Caulfield Guineas 2020 courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
