Lumosty and Moonovermanhattan were sold just six minutes apart at the 2013 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Today they won Group 2 events at Moonee Valley 145 minutes apart.

Sold by Coolmore Stud as Lot 184 for $185,000 at Inglis Easter, Lumosty (Fastnet Rock x Luminous Eyes) won the Gr.2 MVRC Drummond Golf Fillies Classic over 1600m on Saturday against three-year-old fillies.

The Flemington Bloodstock Agency buy is trained by Robert Smerdon and owned by Phil Sly and Katsumi Yoshida, the same combination behind 2011 VRC Oaks winner Mosheen.
Smerdon will assess in the coming days if Lumosty will join fellow Inglis graduates Crafty and Fontein Ruby in this year’s VRC Oaks saying “we will have a chat tomorrow when the dust has settled and see where we go with her.”

“I think we would take the big leap, if she went forward she would go straight there [VRC Oaks]. Mosheen ran in the Thousand Guineas, then Myer Classic and on to the Oaks. They can do it if they can stay," Smerdon added.

Moonovermanhattan completed the Group 2 double for Inglis Easter graduates four races and 145 minutes later when winning the Gr.2 MVRC Dilmah Exceptional Teas Vase over 2040m.

The authority in the one and three-quarter length victory has stamped the three-year-old as a serious contender for the Victoria Derby.
Moonovermanhattan (Manhattan Rain x Lunaspur) was a $100,000 purchase by bloodstock agent Dermot Farrington on behalf of Ken Biddick and Peter Anastasiou’s Grandlodge Thoroughbreds. The colt was sold by Arrowfield Stud as Lot 186, only two lots after Lumosty was sold.

Trainer Mick Price was full of praise for his colt after what has been a big weekend at Moonee Valley following the Group 1 victory of stablemate Lankan Rupee on Friday evening.

“It has been a big twenty-four hours but we’ve got the right horses to work with. We paid $100,000 for him [Moonovermanhattan] at Sydney Easter. He’s a lovely horse, is lovely to work with and this is what we need, the right equipment and when training them right the results come,” said Price.

“This race is usually the best VRC Derby guide. He’s a big long clean winded staying horse, I think he’ll get the Derby distance, he has had a fairly good prep, he’s just got to have a good seven days,” added Price.

The Group 1 VRC Victoria Derby (2500m), won the last two years by Inglis graduates Polanski and Fiveandahalfstar, will be run at Flemington next Saturday 1 November 2014.

The 2014 edition of the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) for three-year-old fillies is set down for Flemington on Thursday 6 November. Inglis graduates have won seven of the last ten runnings of the VRC Oaks.