A capacity field of 15 plus one emergency have accepted for the Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley.
The 1000m Group 1 dash on Saturday is headlined by Queensland galloper Rothfire who will be joined by fellow northern-state gallopers Payline and Golden Boom.
Payline was given the opportunity to get a look at the Moonee Valley circuit in a gallop at the track on Tuesday morning.
The Chris and Corey Munce-trained galloper will be having his first start the Melbourne way of going having raced exclusively in Queensland throughout his 21-start career, that has netted five wins.
Payline has raced three times at Group 1 level and finished third in the Doomben 10,000 behind Sunshine In Paris and Rothfire during the Brisbane Winter Carnival.
Chris Munce said Payline arrived in Melbourne last week and had a jump-out at Flemington on Friday to get him on his Melbourne leg. “He’s settled in nicely,” Munce said. “He had a nice little jump-out last week at Flemington, and we brought him out to Moonee Valley just to have a look at the track and have a bowl around.
“He’s adapted well. I was lucky enough to have him down at our Gold Coast stable for a few weeks and he was able to get around the left-handed way a fair bit and he learnt to get on his right leg.
“I was pleasantly surprised seeing him rail up quite well on Tuesday. He looked to change legs when he needed to, and I don’t think that will be an issue.”
A trip to Melbourne came on the agenda for Payline following his Doomben 10,000 placing, and Saturday’s outing will determine which direction he heads.
The Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 26 and the Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) on the final day of Melbourne Cup week at Flemington are currently in Munce’s planning.
“The 1000 metres on Saturday is probably a bit short of where we want to be going with him and it’s a race that will have sustained speed right from the get-go,” Munce said.
“It’s a full field, and he’ll need luck in running, but if he gets the right luck, he will be hitting the line pretty strong.
“We have a couple of plans after Saturday. If he runs well, we probably go to the Manikato and the then the Champions Sprint on the last day at Flemington, but if he doesn’t get around Moonee Valley, then we’ll probably have to change.
“His 1200-metre form is very strong, and we had not tried him past 1200 until he ran in the Stradbroke.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out with him. He’s a pretty good galloper.”
The Shane Nichols and Hayden Black-trained unbeaten filly Esha is first emergency for Saturday’s race and will require a scratching to sneak into the field.
The barrier draw will take place later on Tuesday evening.
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