Rewarding Weekend Double

The final weekend of the Cup Carnival was a good one for us – a gutsy victory by Saint Or Sinner at Flemington on Saturday followed up by an easy win for Suspicious Minds at Benalla on Sunday.

Due a change of luck after working hard from an outside gate at his previous outing in the Seymour Cup, Saint Or Sinner had an easier time at in the Antler Luggage Handicap.

Enjoying a lovely rails run behind the leaders, Saint Or Sinner was always travelling well for in-form jockey James McDonald although Michael Moroney was slightly concerned when the five-year-old hit the lead with 300m to go.

“He is a funny horse – if he gets to the front too soon he wants to pull up. But James had a lap-full of horse and he got it just right!”

“He travelled beautifully for me,” McDonald reported, “and he gave me a nice kick – though I was glad the finishing post wasn’t any further away!”

“It was very rewarding to get a winner for Michael and these owners,” he continued, “and I am sure it won’t be his last – he is a lovely horse.”

Moroney has always had plenty of time for Saint Or Sinner, a horse he describes as “a talent.”

“Things did not go right for him early in his preparation but today looked the right race for him and we thought he’d be hard to beat.”

Saint Or Sinner, who is raced by a large group headed by great client Rupert Legh, is a special horse to the stable as we trained his dam It’s My Sin to a Group One victory in New Zealand.

The cheapest Group One winner purchased by Paul (she was a $17,000 Easter yearling simply missed by other buyers!), she has continued on with her good work at stud with ten winners from 11 to race.

Three of her progeny have been stakes performers including terrific Ballymore mare Divine Rebel – a Group Two winner who was twice runner up in the Sydney Cup.

Paul recalls the day he purchased It’s My Sin – “going through my catalogue at the last minute I realised there was just one yearling I had not inspected.”

“She had got to the sale yet and was the only horse being sold by her breeder so she was not part of a big draft and I don’t think many people saw her.”

“But as soon as I saw her I loved her – in fact I thought she was the best horse at the sale.”

And so she was one of our great bargain stories and she is still rewarding us as Saint Or Sinner at NZ$36,000 was not an expensive buy either.

Our luck continued at the Benalla meeting on Sunday with Suspicious Minds racing away to a soft win over a mile.

Improving at each run this time in, the lightly raced mare still has upside and judging by the way she drew clear late after spotting the leaders several lengths at the top of the straight, she has much more to offer!

A two times winner from just nine starts, Suspicious Minds is a daughter of Alamosa and a half-sister to the stakes winners Arrabeea and Marie Claire.