
Daniel Moor’s dedication to riding in jump-outs at various centres, where many jockeys would not typically ride, has paid off with a big win on Inkaruna.
Though Moor was not initially booked to ride Inkaruna in the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) at Sandown on Saturday, he was called in as a late replacement after Craig Williams became unavailable due to illness.
Moor had ridden Inkaruna in a jump-out at Mornington in late December, which led trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman to give him the call-up.
“I nearly missed the call,” Moor said. “I had a ute full of horse feed and was working, and luckily I got here in time. I’d had a bit to do with her in the past, and she was well worth rushing here for the ride.”
Inkaruna ($6) won the race by a nose, defeating the $3.60 favourite, Sword Of Legacy, with Hot Sea ($4) finishing another 1-¾ lengths behind in third.
Sam Freedman shared that he and his father had been fond of the filly since inspecting her as a yearling on the Gold Coast, although Inkaruna initially fell outside their budget. After some persuasion from Luke Wilkinson, who manages the filly for Kia Ora Stud, the ownership group decided to send Inkaruna to the Freedman stable.
In her first start on Saturday, Inkaruna was a bit of a handful before ultimately showing her class.
“She’s usually a calm filly, although she can have her moments every now and then, which the breed can do, but generally, she’s pretty sensible,” Freedman explained. “It’s her first day out, it’s a pretty hot day, she had a small saddle on as well, and when we put the rider on, she had a bit of a hump. All’s well that ends well.”
Freedman also mentioned that he would consult with the ownership group and his team to decide if Inkaruna should progress directly to the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 22.
“She was actually due to jump out a couple of weeks ago, which was to be her second trial, but they got called off due to some weather,” Freedman said. “It would have put her on track for the Blue Diamond Preview last week, but unfortunately, she had to wait a week.
“I don’t really love that Chairman’s into the Diamond set-up being 1000 (metres) to 1200, but I’ll have a chat to the team, work out what we do, but there’s plenty of options here and in Sydney.”