Irish St Leger winner Voleuse De Coeurs back in Melbourne Cup contention after sale

THE fluctuating Melbourne Cup fortunes of Voleuse De Coeurs have taken another turn, and the Cup bid is back on.

Mike Moroney will train Irish St Leger winner Voleuse De Coeurs for the Melbourne Cup after his brother Paul bought the mare. Picture: Michael Dodge

THE fluctuating Melbourne Cup fortunes of Voleuse De Coeurs have taken another turn, and the Cup bid is back on.

Dermot Weld's loss is Mike Moroney's gain after the runaway Irish St Leger winner was bought for a reputed $1.5 million.

Moroney confirmed his new acquisition would be raced by Ting Kong Cheng, senior manager of Sun International Group, who are the new owners of Eliza Park.

Voleuse de Coeurs will go into quarantine at Newmarket tonight and will fly to Melbourne before being eventually transferred to Moroney’s Flemington stables.

Weld, who prepared Vintage Crop (1993) and Media Puzzle (2002), is devastated by the loss and said Voleuse de Coeurs is “a very high-class filly and it was a great performance in the Irish St Leger.

“She’s a good stayer with speed. She was a lovely filly to train and we are sad to lose her.”

Voleuse De Coeurs was sold by prolific Irish breeder Lady Chryss O'Reilly, one of the most influential figures on the Irish racing scene with a host of Group 1 successes to her name.

Clients of Moroney, including prominent businessman Rupert Legh, had the horse all-but bought on the eve of last month's Irish St Leger but the deal fell through when Moroney's private vet discovered a potential "issue'' with one of the horse's legs.

A day later the horse bolted home by six lengths in the St Leger, leaving Legh and Co wondering what might have been.

Late last night, however, it was announced that Moroney's brother Paul had purchased the mare from dual Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Weld.

“The deal has been done,” Moroney said as Voleuse De Coeurs leapt into $13 third favouritism for the Cup.

"She is due to be leaving Dermot’s this afternoon with the intention of crossing over to Newmarket to go into quarantine tomorrow."

It is unclear, however, if Legh is among the new owners of the mare.

“The buyer is not wishing to be disclosed at this stage, but she will be transferred to my brother, Mike Moroney, and will be entered into quarantine under Mike’s name," he said.

“I’m rapt we’ve been able to pull the deal off. We’ve been chasing her even before the Irish St Leger but there was a minor hiccup which has now been sorted.”

Trainer of 2000 Melbourne Cup winner Brew, Mike Moroney said Voleuse De Coeurs had been on the stable radar for a year.

"Paul originally identified her as a prospect last year and we have been tracking her since," Moroney said.

"We've had a few hurdles in our way but we've managed to get her and we are all very pleased.

"Paul has done the deal with Mr Ting Kong Cheng and she will race for him in the Melbourne Cup." 

Moroney confirmed the undisclosed price was "a seven-figure deal in Australian dollars."

"She is a Group I winner with upside and that is what the market values these type of Group I winning mares today," Moroney told Racenet.com.

"She handles all types of going, she is not just a wet tracker, she has won on good ground, so she should not have any problems that way once she gets here.”

A measure of Voleuse De Coeurs' quality are the horses she trounced at The Curragh.

Godolphin's Ahzeemah was second ahead of, 2011 Melbourne Cup runner-up Red Cadeaux (fourth), Royal Diamond (fifth) and Ernest Hemingway (sixth).

Racing Victoria is still waiting to learn the exact size of the second wave of foreign raiders to enter quarantine tonight. There could be up to 10 more Cup entrants arriving in Melbourne in the next month.

Royal Diamond will not be among the visitors after trainer-jockey Johnny Murtagh decided to aim the seven-year-old for Ascot.