Interstate summer targets for Loyalty Man

Wodonga Cup winner Loyalty Man will have his first taste of clockwise racing in Sydney’s summer showpiece, the Group Two Villiers Stakes.

Trainer Mike Moroney will use the 1600m-Group Two race at Randwick on December 17 to test Loyalty Man ahead of a tilt at next month’s $1 million Magic Millions Cup at the Gold Coast.

“We are going to the Villiers, just to see how he goes right handed,” Moroney said.

“And we’ve got an option of running again a fortnight later if we want to or going straight into the Magic Millions race.”

Loyalty Man has won five of his 14 starts and got home by half a length in the $90,000 Wodonga Cup (1590m) on November 26 but drifted out in the run to the line.

Patrick Moloney survived a protest from Daniel Moor on the runner-up, London Fog.

“A trip away will be the making of the horse,” Moroney said.

“He’s got a lot to learn still. He should have won by three or four lengths the other day.

“He just gets to the front and just wants to pull up.

“Every time he’s just going to bolt in and then he gets to the front and wants to get the wanders and waits for them.”

His stablemate, dual Group One placegetter Tivaci, is due to return to Moroney’s stables this week to begin building towards the autumn.

Tivaci was winless during his five-start spring preparation in Melbourne but was placed three times, with a second in the Group Two Bobbie Lewis Quality and third placings in the Group One Toorak Handicap and Group One Cantala Stakes over 1600m.

While Moroney has yet to map out Tivaci’s program, he said he was keen to run him in the Group One Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington in March.

“Whether we go to that first-up or run him before that we’ll just see how we go,” he said.

The Oakleigh Plate is an option before the Newmarket.