Nothing will ease the pain of the loss of Mike Moroney but a double at Caulfield on Saturday will keep his spirit alive.
The Ballymore Stables at Flemington are now run by Glen Thompson who joined Moroney in a training partnership at the start of the current season.
Moroney’s name was listed in the racebook on Saturday, although Racing Australia made the change to place the stable in Thompson’s care on Friday.
Bankers Choice provided the Flemington-based stable with a winner in the opening race on Saturday, the DCE Handicap (2400m) before Benagil took out the VOBIS Platinum Guineas (1600m).
Long time racing manager Anthony Feroce said it had been an emotional time for the entire stable dealing with Moroney’s death just over two weeks ago.
“That’s fantastic,” Feroce said following Bankers Choice’s victory.
“We had Mike’s memorial on Tuesday, and we’ve got the funeral (in New Zealand) on Monday and that’s just a lovely way to start the day.
“For Glen, that’ll be great for him. He’s a trainer on his own right now, so it’s a great start.”
Feroce said Bankers Choice would likely be set for the Listed Warrnambool Cup (2350m) in May.
Thompson was at Rosehill to saddle Coeur Volante in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic on Saturday when Benagil staged a huge performance to take out the VOBIS Platinum Guineas coming from near the tail of the field turning for home.
The filly had been slated to run in the Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1600m) at Flemington last Saturday, but Feroce said they had made the right decision in bypassing Treasurethe Moment.
“The original plan was to run last week, but we didn’t think we could beat Matt Laurie’s very good filly, so we decided to bypass that and come here, and it’s worked out really well,” Feroce said.
“Our plan has always been to go to the Australasian Oaks in Adelaide, so we’ll have a chat with Phil (Campbell) and whatever, and we’ll see what happens.”
