The combination of trainer Peter Moody and jockey Luke Nolen is usually mentioned in the same sentence at Black Caviar.
But on Saturday it was Thy at Warwick Farm who brought their names to the fore for a stakes win on Randwick Guineas day.
Thy - Photo by Steve Hart
Last year’s Australian Oaks third-placed Thy ($5) got the better of topweight Crafty Irna ($8.50) and Aliyana Tilde ($21) to win the Listed Aspiration Quality (1600m) for fillies and mares.
Thy holds entries in the Group One BMW and the Sydney Cup but Moody’s Sydney foreperson Claire Cunningham said the decision would be his.
“She will step up in distance but where that is will be up to Peter,” Cunningham said.
Nolen said the four-year-old raced like she needed further.
“She is a little bit dour and is open to improvement.”
Nolen and Moody will be front and centre for the next week in the lead-up to Black Caviar’s next race in Friday’s William Reid Stakes.
Aliyana Tilde’s effort was encouraging for her trainer Kerry Parker who pulled the pin on the spring campaign of the Oaks runner-up.
“She had to be competitive today to show we should go on,” he said.
“It was good to see what she did today.”
