Sydney’s biggest race of the summer is now in the sights of Kilmore Cup winner Rhythm To Spare.
The Mike Moroney-trained Rhythm To Spare has put together two consecutive wins at the back end of the Victorian spring carnival including Sunday’s $130,000 1600m-Listed race at Kilmore.
Moroney said Rhythm To Spare had come through the win in good order and he was keen to take him to the $250,000 Group Two Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on December 12.
“He’s got right-handed form. He ran second twice in New Zealand going right-handed at the start of his career before he came to Australia,” Moroney said.
“He also ran second in a Rough Habit Plate in Brisbane behind Hawkspur as a three-year-old before finishing fourth in the Queensland Derby.
“He has had a couple of starts in Sydney and did fail, but he just wasn’t going as well then.
“We are pretty keen on going up there.”
Rhythm To Spare has won eight of his 27 starts with the Kilmore Cup his second stakes victory. He also won the 2014 Group Three R.A Lee Stakes in Adelaide.
Moroney said he believed he would be competitive in the Villiers.
“He was pretty unlucky in the Toorak Handicap a couple of years ago and you’d think that he’s up to the off-season milers in Australia,” he said.
Meanwhile, three-year-olds Tulsa and Alaskan Rose are among a few of the stable’s horses to return to work on Monday having had spring campaigns.
Tulsa’s four-start campaign started with a maiden win at Pakenham and included a fast-finishing second in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude before a midfield finish in the Caulfield Guineas.
“I thought for a horse that looked pretty backward to me, he did a very good job,” Moroney said.
“He should be a very big improver going into the autumn I would think.”
Alaskan Rose won her first two starts before she was unplaced in the Thousand Guineas Prelude and second-last in the Thousand Guineas.
Moroney said she displaced her soft palate in the Guineas and would do her future racing with a tongue tie.
