Peter Moody was quietly optimistic that Bridal Waltz could turn the tables on highly touted rival She’s An Artist, and his confidence was well placed in the Listed Creswick Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.
After finishing more than four lengths behind She’s An Artist last month, Bridal Waltz ($13) flipped the script with a bold front-running win, holding off the $1.30 betting favourite by three-quarters of a length. Duchess Zou ($13) ran third, a further length and a half behind.
Moody, who trains in partnership with Katherine Coleman, believed the filly had improved significantly between runs and noted key differences heading into Saturday’s contest.
“She did very well post Adelaide so we sort of decided that she went into that (last run) probably slightly underdone,” Moody said.
“She was ready to peak today but obviously respectful of the two that beat her coming here from the other day, but we thought we were in the wrong part of the track.
“We were quietly confident we could turn it around, we just had to hope the favourite maybe wasn’t as good as the hype.”
Moody said Bridal Waltz is likely to head for a short spell before aiming at suitable stakes targets during the Spring Racing Carnival.
“She’s just a gutsy little filly from a terrific family,” he said. “She Dances is her sister and we sold her earlier this year, and we’ve got a two-year-old at home that we quietly like as well.”
“She’s now a stakes winner, which is hugely important. We’ll give her a freshen up and pick our races carefully in the spring.”
The finish also made for an interesting dynamic at home, with Ben Melham aboard the winner holding off wife Jamie Kah, who rode the favourite.
“A fair chance of sleeping in the spare room, I would imagine,” Melham quipped. “My filly dug really deep when I needed her to. She just got a lovely rhythm and let down too well.”
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