Mike Moroney is confident that his English import Glass Harmonium is in with a chance when he makes his Australian debut in the Hollindale Stakes at the Gold Coast this Saturday.
Glass Harmonium is one of 13 horses to be nominated for the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m), including fellow British import My Kingdom Of Fife.
Despite the fact that My Kingdom Of Fife has now won his last two Group races, including the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Moroney feels that Glass Harmonium has the form to out-class him.
“He brings better form to Australia than My Kingdom Of Fife and he goes really good,” Moroney said.
“He raced in a couple of Group Ones when he was in England and he won a Group Three over there.
“The day he won the Group Three he beat Redwood who ran second in the Sheema Classic in Dubai this year.
“If he brings his English form here he’ll be very competitive.”
Glass Harmonium, who has won three of his 12 race starts, was purchased by Moroney quite some time ago but has only been in Australia for the past two and a half months.
“We got him for nice money but it was nowhere near as much as they wanted the previous year when Lee Freedman chased him,” Moroney said.
“After Hong Kong he had to go back to England to quarantine before he came over to me and I’ve only had him for about 10 weeks.”
Glass Harmonium will be aimed at the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2020m) during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival and then will be spelled in preparation for a stellar Melbourne spring campaign.
“The Caulfield Cup will be his mission in the spring but I’ll also nominate him for the Melbourne Cup,” Moroney said.
The horse won his barrier trial at Hawkesbury last start, leading his trainer to believe that the only thing standing in the way of a debut victory is a rain-affected track.
“He went quite well but the question mark with him is how he’ll go if we get a wet track in the Hollindale,” Moroney said.
“Most of his form in England has been on top of the ground.”