The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman trained Alpha Sofie … a winner of four of her seven races … will be looking to bounce back in Saturday’s Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes at Morphettville after posting disappointing results in her last two starts.
The chestnut filly won two out of three starts for trainer Jason Edwards in Queensland before making the move south the join the Moody / Coleman setup.
Two wins on the trot for her new stable then took the daughter of Capitalist’s winning sequence to four straight wins … and she had now upped the ante, winning, firstly, at Listed level in the Atlantic Jewel Stakes over 1200m at Moonee Valley … before following up with a Group 3 win in the Peter Le Grand over 1100m at Caulfield.
Four wins from five starts …things were looking pretty good.
But then Alpha Sofie came unstuck when tackling the $1 million Inglis Sprint over 1200m in her first start at Flemington. finishing third last in a field of fifteen, coming home 6.46 lengths behind the winner Getta Good Feeling.
She then got closer, but again never really fired when unplaced, 2.42 lengths behind Point Barrow in the Typhoon Tracy over 1200m at Moonee Valley.
“It was a real head-scratcher that day,” said Coleman, referring to Alpha Sofie’s Inglis Sprint run when talking to Racing.com.
“Obviously, she copped a bump out of the barriers and then got over-racing.
“Whether it was just the fact that she didn’t handle the Flemington straight … still not a hundred percent sure there.”
Peter Moody gave his assessment of that run.
“She just got a bump at the start the other day and then pulled her head off, which she’s never done before. That was down the straight for the first time for her. She charged and got lost,” said Moody.
Jockey Zac Spain explained to stewards that Alpha Sofie had over-raced and refused to settle, despite his efforts, and as a result the filly tired over the latter stages.
That would have been an isolated, one-off hiccup had Alpha Sofie not found her way into the steward’s report again in her next starts at Caulfield where it was stated that Alpha Sofie … ‘Over-raced through the middle stages.’
The positive side of this downturn in results, is that Alpha Sofie, importantly, was cleared after both disappointing runs of any physical problems … meaning that the Moody / Coleman stable weer able to press ahead towards Adelaide, although with a revied plan of running Alpha Sofie in the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes instead of the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes, which was the original target.
Zac Spain, who has ridden Alpha Sofie in three of the four runs the filly has had for the Moody / Coleman training partnership … Luke Nolan was the rider in the Typhoon Tracy … is back in the saddle.
Alpha Sofie is currently a $10 chance for Saturday’s contest with online bookmakers.
