‘Pretty special filly’ Coeur Volante stamps Thousand Guineas claims after dominant win in Prelude at Caulfield
Coeur Volante again showed why trainer Mike Moroney holds her in high regard with a brilliant win in the Thousand Guineas Prelude at Caulfield.
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Mike Moroney labelled Coeur Volante as potentially “one of the better (horses) I’ve had” after the exciting filly stamped herself as a serious Thousand Guineas contender next month following a stunning win at Caulfield on Saturday.
The daughter of Proisir has now won three of her four starts and had to overcome a wide gate and a tough run in transit to win the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude by 1¼ lengths.
“She is not overly big, but she is a real athlete,” Moroney said after Coeur Volante ($4.60) sailed away from Vivy Air ($26) and Zourion ($31).
“We have thought (she was very good) … for a while, but you have to put a lid on it until they do it. But she’s a pretty special filly.
“She is probably one of the better ones I’ve had.”
Coeur Volante a strong winner in the Thousand Guineas Prelude!
— 7HorseRacing 🎠(@7horseracing) October 21, 2023
Some ride from Blake Shinn. ðŸ‘@BallymoreStabls@blake_shinnpic.twitter.com/CDOSlPLyCR
Moroney gave Blake Shinn the freedom to make a decision on how to overcome the wide gate, but was full of praise for the ride.
“She’s a really talented horse as she displayed at Moonee Valley and the job was going to be for me and the horse to overcome that draw,” Shinn said.
“(I’m) very grateful to Mike and the connections to allow me to have that free rein to assess it from the start.”
The Melbourne Racing Club’s timetable shift of the $1.5m Thousand Guineas to November 18 means Coeur Volante could run on Melbourne Cup day before backing up at Caulfield less than a fortnight later.
She was backed from $13 into $6 for the Thousand Guineas after Saturday’s win.
“The decision we’ve got to make now is if we give her a run 10 days before on Melbourne Cup Day or whether we go straight into it,“ Moroney said.
“She’ll tell us.
“She got onto her toes a little bit today. Around the stalls we had to keep her walking and marching. She could hear the overhead stuff and I think she started to lose the plot a bit.
“When we put the saddle on her she quietened right down and I watched her walk around. She was pretty good.”
The filly was purchased by Moroney’s brother Paul for $90,000 at the 2022 New Zealand Karaka Sales and looks to have plenty of scope for the future.
Senior part-owner Rupert Legh described Coeur Volante as being “special” after the race as the stable chart some ambitious plans for the rest of the rest of spring and beyond.
Originally published as ‘Pretty special filly’ Coeur Volante stamps Thousand Guineas claims after dominant win in Prelude at Caulfield
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