Jockey Patrick Moloney has not wavered in his belief regarding Express Class’s potential to capture a significant race win down the track.
After an impressive debut victory at Sandown almost a year ago, Express Class was then stepped up to three-year-old Stakes company for two runs the following month. His second outing in this grade saw him finish third in the Group 3 Vain Stakes.
Post a spring break, the Gerard Moloney-trained Express Class reappeared for a late summer-autumn preparation. He initially competed against older horses in a benchmark race upon resuming, before returning to Stakes races for three further starts, concluding with a seventh-place finish in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington.
Express Class is scheduled to kick off his spring preparation in the Quayclean Handicap (1100m) at Caulfield this Saturday. Moloney is anticipating a positive performance, even with the disadvantage of drawing barrier 12 in the 14-horse field.
“He’s had two nice trials coming into it, albeit his last one he got a bit lost at Caulfield going up the back straight and running up the hill,” Moloney shared.
“He didn’t know what was going on, but his work has been excellent.
“We’ve been working him in blinkers which he will have on Saturday, and I think you’ll find a much more furnished horse this time around.”
Moloney commented that Express Class is still developing his racing acumen and believes the blinkers will be a key factor.
“When the penny drops, he’s definitely good enough to put a race away like this,” Moloney asserted.
“But it just seems, every time he gets to Caulfield, he draws badly and has to take his medicine early and is that flashing light run.
“He can do a few things wrong by the same token, so I’m hoping with the blinkers on and the track is racing true and you can make ground out in the middle, or wider, you’ll see a horse that has come back an improved animal.”
As Express Class approaches his fourth birthday in just over a week, Moloney indicated that his campaign would likely progress through the benchmark system in the coming weeks, contingent on his Saturday performance.
“He’ll be a four-year-old in a few days and only has the one win, so we’ll just work out where he is in the pecking order and work with his rating,” Moloney stated.
“He just needs to prove himself through the ratings, but what he shows at home he can be a nice Saturday horse, and to what extent, we don’t know.
“We just hope that he brings what he does at home, to the races.”
Betting markets for the Quayclean Handicap are now open at leading Australian betting sites.
