Royal Applause rings up a Valley double

Royal Applause (Andrew Mallyon) made it back-to-back Moonee Valley wins for trainer Symon Wilde.

A confidence-boosting win in a country race in October has been parlayed into a Moonee Valley double for the connections of Royal Applause.

The Symon Wilde-trained mare added Saturday’s McCafe Handicap (1600m) to her first city win at the track just over a week ago.

Ridden by Andrew Mallyon, Royal Applause ($9) scored in a three-way slog by a short half-head from the $3.60 favourite Heavenly Descent with Miles Of Krishan ($5) a long head away third.

Trainer Symon Wilde dropped Royal Applause right back in grade to gain a confidence-boosting win that has seen the mare go on to win four of her past five starts.

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“We dropped her back early in the prep and her confidence seems to be up,” Wilde said.

“Winning form is good form wherever it is and she’s kept going on with it from last Friday with a good run and a good ride.

“When we got the people in I thought she’d be a city winner but I wasn’t expecting a Saturday win, but I’ll certainly take it.”

Wilde said he would look for a similar race while the fields for mares races at this time of year are small.

“We might have to claim as she goes up in weight but we’ll definitely keep her along this path and she can front up in another couple of weeks,” he said.