While delighted at winning a Group Two race at Flemington on Saturday, jockey Vlad Duric was just as happy seeing Joao Moreira land a treble in Sydney.
While the pair were rivals in Singapore, Duric had great admiration for Moreira who broke all records before his move to Hong Kong.
Times had been quiet for Duric, exacerbated by an eye injury, before he guided the Gai Waterhouse-trained Forever Loved ($13) to a 1-1/4 length victory in the Blazer Stakes, defeating Enquare ($17) with May’s Dream a short head away third.
“I needed that one to be honest,” Duric said.
“I’d been a bit quiet, but what do you do. You keep working and putting your head down.
“I did get a bit of inspiration from watching Joao up there in Sydney.
“I’m so proud of him. We both started in Singapore at the same time. I saw him develop. He couldn’t speak English when he got there and you see where he’s got to now.”
Emma Pearce, assistant racing manager for Waterhouse, said the Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on November 1 was the likely race for Forever Loved during the Melbourne Cup carnival.
“We’ve always thought she has a Group One win in her,” Pearce said.
“She’s been a slow-maturing mare but the Myer Classic has been on the list for a while.
“We thought she could run top three but we’re now looking for that Group One at a mile plus.”
