John Moloney is looking to take City Of Song north for the Queensland Guineas after the three-year-old filly gave him his first metropolitan winner for the season at Flemington.
The daughter of Bel Esprit, ridden for the first time in a race by Moloney’s stable apprentice Jarrod Fry and starting at $16, came from second last of the 14 runners in the Melbourne Citymission Hcp (1400m) to score by a length from Quick Retort ($51) with Plucky Belle ($15) a short head away third.
“The horses haven’t been good enough. I haven’t even had one good enough to run in Melbourne. I nearly got lost coming out here,” Moloney quipped.
“I haven’t been getting near them at all in town but I’ve been smacking them around in the bush just of late.
Moloney, who has 22 horses in work at Caulfield, has won 10 races on the provincial circuit since January.
But he said he couldn’t remember having a city winner since City Of Song won the Listed Blue Sapphire Classic (1200m) on her home track at Caulfield nearly a year ago.
The filly has won three city races and been placed in another three of 11 starts and Moloney said he would talk to owner-breeder Colin Beggs regarding taking her north for the Group Two Queensland Guineas at Eagle Farm on June 9.
“Her second placing at Moonee Valley last start told me she was back,” Moloney said.
“She didn’t come up last spring but to come off the back of them and go around them was a pretty good effort today. It was a pretty competitive race.”
