Jockey Patrick Moloney has not lost faith in Express Class and believes he has the potential to one day win a good race.
An impressive debut winner at Sandown just shy of 12 months ago, Express Class was then tested in three-year-old Stakes company in two runs the following month, including finishing third in the Group 3 Vain Stakes at his second outing.
After a spring break, the Gerard Moloney-trained Express Class returned for a late summer-autumn campaign, taking on the older horses in a benchmark race when resuming before heading back to Stakes company for three runs, culminating in finishing seventh in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington.
Express Class kicks off a spring campaign in the Quayclean Handicap (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday with Moloney looking for a positive performance despite drawing barrier 12 in the 14-horse field.
“He’s had two nice trials coming into it, albeit his last one he got a bit lost at Caulfield going up the back straight and running up the hill,” Moloney said.
“He didn’t know what was going on, but his work has been excellent.
“We’ve been working him in blinkers which he will have on Saturday, and I think you’ll find a much more furnished horse this time around.”
Moloney said Express Class was still working out his ‘race smarts’ and expects the blinkers to do the trick.
“When the penny drops, he’s definitely good enough to put a race away like this,” Moloney said.
“But it just seems, every time he gets to Caulfield, he draws badly and has to take his medicine early and is that flashing light run.
“He can do a few things wrong by the same token, so I’m hoping with the blinkers on and the track is racing true and you can make ground out in the middle, or wider, you’ll see a horse that has come back an improved animal.”
Turning four in just over a week, Moloney said depending on how Express Class performs on Saturday he was likely to head through benchmark system in the ensuing weeks.
“He’ll be a four-year-old in a few days and only has the one win, so we’ll just work out where he is in the pecking order and work with his rating,” Moloney said.
“He just needs to prove himself through the ratings, but what he shows at home he can be a nice Saturday horse, and to what extent, we don’t know.
“We just hope that he brings what he does at home, to the races.”
