LIKE a host of local trainers, Trafalgar East’s Paul and Tracey Templeton are excited to be returning to the Moe Racing Club for a meeting.
The fact that it’s a Moe Cup just makes it all the sweeter.
The stable will nominate five horses for the club’s premier raceday, returning after consecutive washouts, and the anticipation is palpable.
“We haven’t actually primed the horses for the meeting, but you look forward to having runners at your cup day and hopefully getting a winner, it’s a bit of a buzz around, everyone’s talking about so it’s good to be a part of it,” Paul said.
“It’s just good to go three minutes up the road, race locally, go to a local meeting where your horses are used to the track, they work on it every second day, it’s a big advantage being able to run on your own track.”
The Templetons will use the meet primarily to take a look at some of the stable’s newcomers, but a couple of winners are not out of the question.
Rockedly, which will be nominated for the $17,500 BM64 1100 metre handicap, is “a good honest horse” with three wins and half a dozen placings to its name, while three year-old Painting is a chance in the 1200m maiden plate first race.
Ex Peter Moody trained colt trialled well at Cranbourne and will make his fifth career start, two time place-getter Artie’s Son will be put forward for the 1600m maiden plate after a disappointing showing in Bairnsdale, while Simply Simon is also in the mix for a first trip over 1600m.
Paul said access to Moe for training purposes since the track’s resurfacing had been welcome, and would only improve over time.
“They’re pretty good to us, we’ve been able to work on it a bit so our horses are used to it,” Paul said.
“I’d like to think in 12 months we’ll see even bigger advantages to us because it will have all settled in, we’ll get on it more and we’ll race on it more too.
“It’s only early stages but it’s been great and it just gives us a decent surface to gallop horses on.”
