Smart filly Mollynickers emerges as a Thousand Guineas prospect with Caulfield win
Peter Moody will need to start thinking about spring carnival options for brilliant Caulfield winner Mollynickers.
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Peter Moody is convinced he has a spring carnival filly after Mollynickers outclassed her rivals in the VOBIS Gold Ingot (1400m).
Moody had no issue with sending Mollynickers to Saturday’s $175,000 race at Caulfield despite the filly only clearing maiden ranks by three-quarters of a length at Moe on July 6.
The form out of the race looked suspect when the Moe runner-up Robrick beat only two runners home in the opening race of the day but punters expected Mollynickers to win again, backing her into a $1.75 favourite.
Mollynickers was held up on the home turn but apprentice Carleen Hefel guided the Pierro filly into the clear early in the straight before the two-year-old did the rest, strolling to an easy win.
Mollynickers is a smart filly! 💪
— 7HorseRacing 🎠(@7horseracing) July 22, 2023
Carleen Hefel extends her lead in the Melbourne Apprentice Premiership.@moodyracingpgmpic.twitter.com/d3Vb1fXbhi
Moody said the win suggested Mollynickers could follow the template of last year’s VOBIS Gold Ingot winner Boogie Dancer, who went on to win at Group 2 level and run fourth in the Thousand Guineas.
“She looked like she won with a bit in hand with her ears pricked,” Moody said.
“She was well ridden by Carleen and we have probably got to go home and have a bit of a think now.
“We won this race last year with Boogie Dancer and she ended up running favourite in the Thousand Guineas and running fourth.
“We’ve probably got to start thinking about black-type, the spring carnival and when, where and how.”
Moody will have an extra month to decide whether to aim Mollynickers at the Thousand Guineas with the Group 1 contest to be run on November 18 as part of the rejigged spring carnival.
However, Moody said Mollynickers could be effective over longer distances than the 1600m of the Thousand Guineas in the spring.
“She gives me the feel she has the scope to get out to a mile-and-a-quarter. She’s a lovely relaxed filly,” Moody said.
“Is she an Oaks filly? That’s a long bow to draw but it’s nice to have those options available after a couple of wins.”
CUTE AS ON THE BUTTON
What Cute As lacks in size, she makes up with talent.
The Shane Fliedner-trained filly ended the hopes of many quaddie punters when she won the Senet Gambling Law Experts Handicap (1100m) at $31.
But the Bendigo trainer was keen on the three-year-old repeating her debut win as a $26 chance at Seymour in April.
“I was pretty keen today but it’s hard to tell owners that you’re keen when they (bookmakers) put up $30,” Fliedner said.
Fliedner said he leased Cute As in partnership with a loyal client of the Bendigo stable.
“She was a little bit small to go to the sales but she was well-related,” Fliedner said.
“She’s a tough little filly, not much of her but trials well and races well. She does everything right.”
DIFFERENT TACTICS, SAME RESULT
The margin was much slimmer but jockey Blake Shinn lauded Va Via’s versatility after the Godolphin filly posted another win in the Stow Storage Handicap (1200m).
Va Via sat out the back before cruising to a five-length win in her previous outing against fillies but took on the boys and won again despite racing much closer to the speed.
Shinn said Va Via’s game win over Group 3 winner Brereton showed the James Cummings-trained three-year-old was a sprinter on the rise.
“I thought that was a really good win today,” Shinn said.
“Today we’ve gone against the males and we rode her more forward so we had to do that bit more work to get the position.
“She’s made some big steps in her last two (runs) and I think she’s a horse going places.”
Originally published as Smart filly Mollynickers emerges as a Thousand Guineas prospect with Caulfield win
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