Trainer Gerard Moloney and his jockey son Patrick did not hold high expectations for debutant Express Class at Sandown.
But their attitude had changed following the Sportsbet Race Previews Handicap (1000m) on Wednesday after the gelding scored a dominant win.
Settling back in the field, Express Class ($31) unwound a powerful finish to defeat the $2.35 betting sites favourite Ferivia by a half-length with a wayward Street Artist ($8) a further 1-½ lengths away third.
Sandown Race 1 | Express Class
It’s a massive upset to start the day! Gerard Moloney’s 2YO causes a boilover at $41 with @pattymoloney in the saddle 💰
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/rnL21bwST4— Racing.com (@Racing) July 30, 2025
Gerard Moloney said Express Class ‘might be special’ after defeating the favourite Ferivia and $2.60 chance Conscience, which is prepared by Peter Moody, and a filly that Moody has a huge opinion of after her debut win.
“The big fella, Moods, he put a bit of a rap out on his filly, but the young girl that works for us, Jess, calls this bloke the Ferrari,” Moloney said.
“I thought it was a bit of a race, so it was a good performance.”
Moloney was lamenting the lack of suitable races to run his first starter in.
He said he would have preferred to kick-start Express Class’s career in a maiden against three-year-olds over Wednesday’s trip but could not find the right race.
“There hadn’t been suitable programming for this horse in the sense he is a maiden, and I didn’t want to run him in this race that three horses had won a race before us in,” Moloney said.
“But it was the perfect distance for him and the right place to bring him.”
Patrick Moloney said he and his father had headed to Sandown with low expectations.
“If you had heard Dad’s pre-video of this horse, he pretty much put a massive wet blanket on the horse because the race had come up so strong,” Moloney said.
“He’s a pretty raw canvas at the moment and he shocked me with how he let rip.
“He did it with a lot of authority, a lot of arrogance, so Dad might have found one.”
