Moore joyous as Takedown wins G2 Premiere

One thing was certain when Takedown won the Premiere Stakes.

Gary Moore would attempt to lift the roof off the Randwick grandstand and in typical fashion, the trainer enjoyed every moment of the horse’s Group Two victory at Randwick on Saturday.

He repeated his celebration after Takedown won The Shorts two weeks earlier, running onto the track to greet horse and jockey Blake Shinn.

Amid a flurry of hugs and fist-pumps, Moore signalled his intention to take the horse to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong International Sprint in December.

But first a trip to Melbourne beckons for the Group Three Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Cup day.

“I rode in the Melbourne Cup but I never won it but to win a race on that day would be great,” Moore said.

Moore won seven Hong Kong premierships as a jockey and had a successful stint training in Macau before establishing his Sydney stable.

Takedown has now won two Group Two races over 1200m in as many weeks and Moore believes he can improve over further distances.

“I’m so lucky to have such have a great horse,” Moore said.

“He could be one of the best sprinters in Australia the way he is going.

“He will be more dominant over a bit further.”

Our Boy Malachi ($9) was brave in defeat first-up, sitting three wide facing the wind throughout the race and finishing a short half-head off the winner.

Danish Twist ($13) also fought out the finish and rounded out the placings, while Group One winner English finished fourth.

Shinn said Takedown was brave when the chips were down.

“Gary has done a remarkable job with this horse, taking him to another level each time he steps out,” Shinn said.

“I am really delighted for him. He is a really lovely man.”