MOSZUR MAKES IT TWO-IN-A-ROW

By Graham Potter | Sunday, March 31, 2024

The three-year-old chestnut filly Moszur made it two wins on the trot when she landed a Class 1 Handicap over 1600m on the Sunshine Coast Poly Track on March 31.

The daughter of Churchill had really pleased trainer David Vandyke when she romped home to secure her Maiden victory by 3.72 lengths on February 21, and he said at the time that she would probably have a month between runs as he looks to guide her to an Queensland Oaks start in June.

“She’s bred to get into an Oaks, and we thought we’d just try to nurse her through the summer and get her out to a trip,” said David Vandyke after her Maiden win. “She’s struggled during the heat, so we’ve really been nursing her and nursing her ... and I can’t wait for things to cool down because I think she will do better then.”

True to his word, Vandyke gave Moszur that month to recuperate before she returned. The heat hadn’t quite died down yet, and with all of the rain that has been falling, the Sunshine Coast meetings in recent times have all been on the poly Track ... which is not always ideal, but Moszur needed to run to bring her along and keep that possible Oaks schedule on track.

Apprentice Cody Collis and his 2kg claim gave Moszur, who started as the $2 favourite, some weight relief from the 60kg she had been set to carry, and that was to prove useful in the run.

Drawn seven out of eight runners, and with the race almost immediately tracking into a turn, Collis didn’t rush Moszur early, and the Vandyke trained runner settled in sixth place, caught three wide and all of six lengths off Street Fighter who had surged into a clear early lead.

Moszur, trapped wide throughout, only improved marginally as the field travelled down the back straight, but she then started to gather momentum and was up to third place, now just two lengths off the lead at the 600m mark ... and she then continued to make progress in the sweep to the home turn to the degree that she straightened in a close-up second place, less than a length off the lead while still racing three wide.

At that stage Moszur had horses all around her, including some snapping at her heels so, particularly after her wide trip, the run home provided a real test for her, both in terms of ability and mental strength, as she knuckled down to her task, hit the front at the 300m mark, and never missed a beat from there, arguably winning with something in hand as she held the second place runner Elle Magic ($4.20) by 1.50 lengths at the line.

It was a case of mission accomplished.

Back-to-back wins were on the board (from only five starts) and the run would certainly have brought Moszur on well in terms of gaining race experience meaning the target is still very much set on the Queensland Oaks.

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