Milwaukee set to run at Rosehill

The forecast for significant rain in Melbourne has prompted trainer Mike Moroney to send Milwaukee to Sydney to race at Rosehill.

Milwaukee was scratched from a race at Ballarat last Saturday when the track was downgraded to heavy after rain on race day.

The gelding is entered for the Schweppes Handicap (1300m) at Sandown on Saturday and also the ATC Owners Benefit Card Handicap (1300m) at Rosehill.

“He’s going to go to Sydney,” Moroney said.

“He doesn’t like wet ground and it looks like it’s going to rain at Sandown.”

Moroney said the four-year-old was due to travel to Sydney on Thursday night.

The trans-Tasman trainer, who is in New Zealand for the weekend’s racing, is keen to get Milwaukee to a race at the Magic Millions race day at the Gold Coast in January and Saturday’s Rosehill race will be important in those plans.

Milwaukee raced in the clockwise direction at Canterbury first-up in September and led into the straight before running off the track in the final 300m to finish fourth.

He was ordered to barrier trial which he did at Randwick later that month to be reinstated.

Winner of this year’s Listed Bendigo Guineas, Milwaukee returned to Victorian racing after the Sydney trip and won at Sale late last month before finishing third over 1400m to subsequent Group winner Dollar For Dollar at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup carnival.

“He’s a horse we’ve got a pretty high opinion of,” Moroney said.

“He’s already won a stakes race and he’s right up to Group level.

“We are very keen if he does go right handed to head to the Magic Millions.

“We’ve galloped him a lot going right handed and he has since trialled right handed, because he had to get a clearance, and he went straight in the trial.

“So we’re hoping now that he’ll show his right form up there.”

Moroney has Lord Barrington and War Legend in races at Sandown and says both handle rain-affected tracks.