Moroney stable with two Sandown chances

Wet weather thwarted Kilmore Cup day plans for stablemates War Legend and Lord Barrington and trainer Mike Moroney is hoping it does not happen again at Sandown.

War Legend was entered for last Sunday’s Listed Kilmore Cup (1600m) while Lord Barrington was in a support race, but the meeting was abandoned after one race because of torrential rain and thunderstorms.

Instead, Moroney has War Legend in Saturday’s Ladbrokes Handicap (1800m) while Lord Barrington is scheduled to run in the Schweppes Handicap (1300m).

Moroney said both horses handle rain-affected ground.

“We just wanted rain for him,” Moroney said of War Legend.

“So we hope that they run the races because they are two horses who handle wet ground.

“We had them both in at Kilmore and the races were called off.

“The ground would have been ideal if they had run the races at Kilmore.

“A bit of rain would bring both of them right into being really good chances.”

Sandown was rated good on Friday morning but significant rain is predicted before the meeting and also during Saturday.

Moroney has aspirations to target next year’s Queensland winter carnival with War Legend and believes wide barriers have played against the five-year-old gelding this campaign.

A last-start fourth placegetter behind Mr Garcia in an 1800m benchmark-90 during the Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington, War Legend has drawn wide again on Saturday but Moroney believes the forecast rain could offset that.

War Legend is at $9.50.

“We’ve got designs on getting him to Queensland for the winter next year,” Moroney said.

“We think he’s going to be a horse who’s good enough to run in some of the handicap races up there and possibly even a Doomben Cup.

“He just gets 2000 metres. He’s effective from 1400 to 2000 metres.”

Moroney scratched Milwaukee from the Schweppes Handicap to instead run him at Rosehill on Saturday but is still represented in the race by Lord Barrington.

He has the widest barrier but Moroney believes the six-year-old runs some of his best races from wide draws.

“He won from the outside gate at Caulfield one day (last year) and he’s better when he’s given room early so he can just make his way up towards the lead,” Moroney said.

“If he draws in sometimes he doesn’t quite begin well enough to hold them and get to where we want to.

“So that draw doesn’t worry us.”