Exciting mare kicks off season with a win

Racing fans watching the Pakenham races on Saturday will have noticed an extra smart performance in the 0 - 68 1763m event, the Michael Moroney trained mare Kyllaros racing away to an easy victory.

Having only her third start, the Tony Santic owned four-year-old settled back on the rails and was always travelling well - hooked out wide on the turn by Rhys McLeod before really knuckling down and finding the line in impressive style.

With plenty left on the line, Kyllaros recorded a winning margin of nearly a length and Moroney is confident that there is plenty more to come.

"She is a nice mare in the making," he said - pointing out that, on pedigree, she will only improve as she matures.

A daughter of European sire sensation Monsun (triple Gr.1 winning sire of 14 Gr.1 winners including last week's Goodwood Cup hero Schiaparelli), Kyllaros is out of the Daylami mare Woman In White whose dam Nicer won the Gr.1 Irish 1000 Guineas.

She is cleverly named too - Kyllaros being a famed grey horse in Greek mythology.

Meanwhile at Caulfield Mr Baritone put in a great effort in the feature event, the Gr.3 Bletchingly Stakes. Freshened since a Queensland campaign that saw him third in the QTC Cup and fourth in the Stradbroke Handicap, the evergreen eight-year-old finished on strongly.

"He always runs well fresh," Moroney said - "and the track with the sting out of the ground was to his liking."

Mr Baritone heads to the Liston Stakes, a race the stable won in 1997 with Happy Star.

"We will keep him going until the tracks get firm and may even have a look at a few races in Sydney for him."