Newmarket Winner Roch 'n' Horse Confirmed for TJ

Media Release - Wednesday March 23

Newmarket Handicap heroine Roch ’N’ Horse is thriving at Flemington and Michael Moroney and connections have confirmed the daughter of Per Incanto will head north to contest the Gr.1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 2.

Roch 'n' Horse is headed for the G1 TJ Smith Stakes - image Grant Courtney

Bred and raced by Little Avondale Stud, Roch ’N’ Horse is blooming in the current warm Melbourne weather.

“She looks absolutely fabulous,” Moroney said. “She’s a very contented mare, is eating everything and has actually put weight on since the win.

“She’s had a bit of travel, from Matamata to Trentham and then the trip here but you wouldn’t know it, her constitution is amazing.

“I haven’t done much with her since the Newmarket but she is lovely and bright and bouncing about like she is ready to go again which is exactly what we want.”

Advertisement

Connections have elected to tackle the weight-for-age Sydney race with lucrative prizemoney of $A2.5 million.  

“She’s in career best form and the way she won at Flemington tells us she is certainly good enough,” Moroney said.

“I had plenty of people tell me before the Newmarket that the New Zealand form was not good enough yet we won the race and Levante ran a terrific race to lead them home on the outside so it was a great result for New Zealand as a whole.”

Moroney is concerned about the monsoon-like weather that has plagued Sydney over the past month, with testing heavy tracks the norm.

“The one little question I have is about her coping with an extremely heavy track so I’m hoping things will improve in time,” he said.

“Her last three starts have been at Group One level, she was desperately unlucky at Ellerslie in the Railway and then just missed in the Telegraph - the best two sprints in New Zealand and then we saw what she is capable of at Flemington.”

Moroney is also upbeat about the prospects of another former New Zealand sprinter in Not An Option, who is likely to run in Saturday’s Listed Hareeba Stakes (1200m) at Mornington.

“His work here at Flemington on Tuesday was as good as I have seen from him since we’ve had him and when we looked at the race on Saturday, it looks a suitable option for him,” Moroney said.

“The field looks like dropping away a bit and more than half the nominations are on the minimum weight which for a Group winner like him is a luxury.

“He won his Group Two going left-handed at Trentham and we gave him a nice break after having one run for us last September where he just got lost at Flemington.

“If he can repeat his gallop from Tuesday then it does look a nice race for him.” – NZ Racing Desk

 

 

 

 

Visit the profile page for Per Incanto

Per Incanto in upcoming sales:
Advertisment
More Reading...
All Too Hard's Arran Bay Brave in the Furphy Plate
Phillip Stokes admitted his preference was to run Arran Bay in the Listed John Letts Cup at Morphettville but was overruled by the owners, who made the correct decision in favouring the Listed Furphy Plate (1800m) at Flemington.
Rosemont and Partners Stakes Quinella on Cup Day
Written Tycoon posted his second new stakes-winner on Melbourne Cup Day when promising three year-old gelding Catoggio took out the Listed VRC Amanda Elliot Stakes (1400m)  for Rosemont Stud and partners, who also race the second horse Bosustow.
Knights Choice a True Underdog Story
Punters were left stunned when the Queenslander Knight's Choice and Japanese visitor Warp Speed (JPN) emerged from the pack to fight out a dramatic finish to the $8,560,000 Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
More Stakes Success for Air Assault
Group I placed last season in the SA Derby, talented gelding Air Assault kept the winning run going for Victoria Derby winning trainer Andrew Gluyas when taking out the Listed SAJC John Letts Cup (1800m) at Morphettville on Melbourne Cup Day.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday November 5
Here is the full list of 145 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Kiwi Bred Gringotts Wins $3million Big Dance
Talented New Zealand-bred gelding Gringotts(NZ) (Per Incanto) delivered a big payday for his connections with victory in Tuesday’s A$3 million Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick.
Kiwi Bred Grey Wins Subzero for OTI at Flemington
New Zealand-bred gelding Cloudland proved a handful for James McDonald at Flemington on Tuesday, but the champion jockey was in a forgiving mood after they had claimed top honours in the Subzero Handicap.
Coolmore Set Justify Fee for 2025
Coolmore have announced the US fee for Justify in 2025 with the undefeated Triple Crown winner priced at $US250,000 to head  their roster of 16 stallions at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
El Vencedor wins G3 Balmerino Stakes
El Vencedor is making a habit of picking up major victories at Ellerslie, adding the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) to his burgeoning record at Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting.
Sires With Winners - Monday November 4
Here is the full list of 21 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.