With a sire and dam who were both adept on heavy ground, juvenile Luna Volanti has the right pedigree to relish the extreme conditions expected at Randwick on Saturday.
The track remains at the end of the measuring scale as a heavy 10, receiving more than 43 mils of rain in the 24 hours to Thursday morning and more than 250 mils in the past week.
Trainer Nathan Doyle does not expect that to bother Luna Volanti when she comes to town for the Home Affairs At Coolmore Handicap (1100m).
Not only did the filly scoot through heavy conditions to win her debut at Muswellbrook, she is by Your Song, a noted sire of wet track performers whose biggest win came in the 2013 BTC Cup when he ploughed through the mud to score by five lengths.
Her dame, Play Just For Me, was moderately performed but posted her lone metropolitan win in heavy conditions at Moonee Valley.
Track ratings aside, Luna Volanti has also shown plenty of natural ability and Doyle is bringing her to Randwick with a level of confidence.
“She has always shown us a lot from day one,” Doyle said.
“We gave her two soft trials leading into that Muswellbrook race and we were quietly confident she would do something similar to what she did.
“It’s a stepping stone into Sydney, but I think she handles wet tracks well. She’s by Your Song and he won a Group 1 on a bottomless track, so all going well, she will go down there and I think she will acquit herself well.”
Luna Volanti was in a league of her own at Muswellbrook and while the race was over 900m, she was strong through the line.
She has been kept up to the mark with a barrier trial win at Wyong and NSW jockeys’ premiership leader Ashley Morgan sticks with her.
Two of Morgan’s rides are early scratchings, leaving him with four mounts at Randwick, including the Jan Bowen-trained pair of Casino Kid and Running Bear.
