Underthemoonlight to take well-worn path to Group One target

An aborted attempt at a Brisbane Group One feature will play in the favour of local race fans when classy mare Underthemoonlight heads to Tauranga in a fortnight to defend her Listed Woburn Farm Classic crown.

The underrated El Hermano mare overcame topweight of 60kgs and a handy field to score a courageous win over 1400m at Te Rapa on Saturday.

The victory has part-owner Hamish McQuade looking forward to the Tauranga challenge although thinking about what might have been with slightly better timing.

“That was a top win on Saturday as we thought she still might have been a run short and she had to give the rest of them weight as well,” he said. “I guess her affinity with Te Rapa played in her favour and the fact is that she is a pretty classy mare. She can be underrated at times and people do want to pigeonhole her as a wet-tracker, but she really goes best when there is just some cut in the ground.

“We had wanted her to run a week earlier as we did have plans to take her to Brisbane for the Tatts Tiara, but the timing just didn’t work out.

“She will go to Tauranga in a fortnight for the fillies and mares race that she won last year and then have a wee break,” said McQuade.

“We will bring her back for the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa, a race she also won last year, and then on to the [G1] Tarzino Trophy at Hastings.