WHO:
Gun weight-for-age sprinters
WHAT:
Group 1 1000-metre weight-for-age
WHEN:
September 24th, 2021
WHERE:
Moonee Valley Racecourse
WHY:
To share a prize pool of AUD$1,000,000
Who will win the Moir Stakes?
The first Group 1 under the lights of Moonee Valley for the new racing season.
A purse worth $1,000,000 is on offer for those sprinters who dare try to negate the unrelenting Weight-for-Age Group 1 over 1000 metres.
It is a race that requires sustained fast speed as the runners catapult their way through the 1000-metre chute which cuts the runners through the middle of the course.
A lot the horses who have won this race in recent times have come into the event with fresh legs being first-up from spells.
You always want to be on a horse who you know can handle the corners of Moonee Valley given the sharp corners can undo even the most talented of animals.
Many runners are known to ‘wobble’ around the home bend which can bring their race unstuck, so a horse who can rail and angle its run without being impeded is often a good starting point.
On-pacers are generally favoured at the track when the surface is dry, especially over the 1000-metre races where track bias has much more of an effect.
It might even pay to look away from the favourite in the race.
Only Nature Strip (2019), Buffering (2012) and Black Caviar (2011) have been the favourites to win the race in the last decade.
THE EARLY CONTENDERS
Profiteer possesses blistering early speed that he can use to his advantage in this race as a three-year-old.
It as a race that has been used by three-year-olds in recent times with Extreme Choice (2016) and She Will Reign (2017) making successful returns from impressive two-year-old campaigns.
This three-year-old colt started a very well backed $4 elect in the Group 1 Golden Slipper to highlight what the punters think about the talent the horse.
If he can produce something akin to what he did in the Inglis Millennium over 1100 meters where he won by five lengths, then he is a serious winning chance in this.
Suspect he will have a race like the Coolmore Stud up the straight for three-year-olds or the VRC Sprint.
Masked Crusader is one of the horses that clearly stands out.
His win first-up at Caulfield was incredible after settling last from a wide barrier in The Heath over 1100 metres.
The way he hit the line was that of a Group 1 winner.
He has also proven his worth at the Moonee Valley track having scored victory in the William Reid Stakes (1200 metres).
Suspect he will be the sniper late in the race as a big closer if the speed gets too hot out in front.
Enthaar was touted as the next star filly on the racing scene before her bubble burst in the Blue Diamond when being a beaten $2.5 favourite.
She does have a heap of star factor about her given the way she won her first two starts by barely breaking a sweat.
It will be intriguing to see how she has come back as three-year-old filly.
She definitely did have some maturing and growing to do as a race horse and has since had a very quiet Cranbourne jump out upon her return to racing.
A Weight-for-Age Group 1 event might be a too much of an ask first-up from a spell, but she has the brilliance and room for improvement to do so.
There is no doubting what magic the Ciaron Maher & Dave Eustace can produce either.
The Inferno showed he is up to it in Australia after winning impressively in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes over 1000 metres.
The former Singapore based sprinter has looked right at home since his making debut on Australian soil after trainer Cliff Brown decided to ship back home.
Looks to have found his calling with Damian Lane riding him and Brown said he could be in his way to The Everest (1200m) if circumstances permit.
Brown also mentioned this horse was ‘the best he has ever had.’
Portland Sky has the runs on the board as Group 1 winner.
The Matt Laurie-trained sprinter was a winner in the dead-heated Oakleigh Plate during the autumn carnival alongside Celebrity Queen.
He showed fantastic sustained speed in that race and has come back into this spring campaign in fairly good order.
The four-year-old should be hitting peak fitness into this race after his McEwen Stakes runner-up finish behind The Inferno last start.
Started the favourite in that race despite only having one trial leading into the first-up run.
Any improvement from that McEwen Stakes effort will see him hard to topple.
EARLY TIP – Masked Crusader $5
It is hard to ignore the fact Masked Crusader is a Group 1 Weight-for-Age winner at Moonee Valley.
He is proven under the race conditions as well as having won in a high-pressure at the track.
The way he won first-up highlighted what a brilliant sprinter he is and he is trained by a stable which knows exactly knows what is required in these sprint races.
THE FAMOUS WINNERS
2020-2010
Black Caviar did the A J Moir Stakes double through 2010 and 2011 when the race was a 1200-metre event.
But for Black Caviar’s brilliance, her feats were usurped by Buffering who is is the record breaking conqueror of the A J Moir Stakes having won on three occasions.
Buffering (2012, 2014, 2015) endeared punters with his tenacious winning ability during this time.
Nature Strip (2019), She Will Reign (2017) Extreme Choice (2016) are also names that have been ticked off the A J Moir Stakes honour roll.
2009-1999
Greg Eurell’s Group 1 winning superstar Apache Cat was the victor in 2009 as he continued his great success across various distances on Australian soil.
Arguably the best winner in this period was champion sprinter Miss Andretti who booted clear under the urgings of Craig Newitt to win the race in 2007.
1998-1988
Schillaci (1992) scored a win in this event under trainer Lee Freedman when the race was of Group 2 status.
The eight-time Group 1 winner would use this event as a stepping stone to his Newmarket Handicap, Oakleigh Plate and Lightning Stakes victories in the Autumn a further six months down the track.
One of the two deadheats in the race was also run during this time with Good Old Ted and Clay hero sharing the spoils in 1989.
Other winners
Manikato (1982) won the race towards the twilight of his career and will be remembered for his versatility as a race horse having won over this sprinting course as well as the mile.
The first dead heat in the race between The Judge and Grey Sapphire occurred in 1979 after The Judge scored his first win the year prior.
Tetrante (1977) was the first of winners for record holder Angus Armanasco.
RECENT WINNERS
Year | Winner | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
2021 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2020 | Pippie | J & C Meagher | Damian Lane | $6.5 |
2019 | Nature Strip | Chris Waller | James McDonald | $2.9 |
2018 | Viddora | Lloyd Kennewell | Joe Bowditch | $12 |
2017 | She Will Reign | Gary Portelli | Kerrin McEvoy | $4 |
2016 | Extreme Choice | Mick Price | Craig Newitt | $5.5 |
2015 | Buffering | Robert Heathcote | Damian Browne | $7 |
2014 | Buffering | Robert Heathcote | Damian Browne | $5.5 |
2013 | Samaready | Mick Price | Craig Newitt | $7 |
2012 | Buffering | Robert Heathcote | Damian Browne | $2.10 |
2011 | Black Caviar | Peter Moody | Luke Nolen | $1.20 |
2010 | Black Caviar | Peter Moody | Luke Nolen | $1.30 |
How do I bet on the A J Moir Stakes?
Punch in betnation.com.au on your internet browser or download and open the BetNation application on your smart phone.
Find the racing futures markets and click on the A J Moir Stakes markets.
Here you will find all the main horses you can back to win the A J Moir Stakes.
