By David Nagel
Pakenham-trainer Peter Moody has experienced more extreme thrills than most people could ever imagine in racing – but he now has an undeniable chance of adding an elusive grand slam victory to his already impressive resume.
For all of his great achievements, which include a remarkable magic-carpet ride with his champion sprinter Black Caviar, Moody has never tasted success in one of Australia’s four greatest races – widely acknowledged as the Grand Slam.
While new races – worth a lot of money – have burst their way onto the scene in recent times, it’s the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper that trainers in this country have most aspired to win.
And Moody would seem to have at least one of those grand prizes extremely close to his grasp after the win of Incentivise in the $1million Group-1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington (2000m) on Saturday.
The five-year-old gelding is now a pronounced favourite for the $5million Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 16, after producing a magnificent performance to hold off a field of class rivals in one of the great classic-preview races of the spring.
Incentivise became the first horse to win the Makybe Diva Stakes (formerly Craiglee Stakes), Turnbull Stakes double since the mighty Dulcify completed the rare feat in 1979. Dulcify would go on to win the Mackinnon Stakes and Cox Plate that year before going amiss as a short-priced favourite in the Melbourne Cup.
Incentivise dictated terms from the front in the Turnbull, holding the mid-race lead from renowned on-pacer Mount Poppa. The son of Shamus Award/Miss Argyle then kicked clear of the field at the 400 before fighting off the late challenges of Young Werther and Chapada.
Given his quick early splits, Incentivise had every right to wilt in the run to the line, but found something late under the urgings of jockey Brett Prebble to draw away in the shadows of the post.
Moody was thrilled with the win and full of admiration of the courage of his new stable star.
“We wanted to have a good gallop, we needed to take improvement out of today to the Caulfield Cup, and Mount Poppa made sure we had a good gallop,” Moody said post-race.
“Brett wanted to be on the inside, he thought the inside was probably the best part of the track, so he made endeavours to hold that so it ended up being a good test. He showed plenty of courage, he’s a bloody tough horse isn’t he.”
The champion trainer said the nature of the tough run would provide the perfect preparation for the prime target for the spring.
“He’s unbelievably tough, he’s been there to be beaten the length of the straight in both his runs and has just showed terrific courage,” he said.
“This will really bring him on for the Caulfield Cup in two weeks.
“We probably came into this just slightly soft, and still learning about the horse, and believing that this will just top him off nicely…so we’re really looking forward to a couple of weeks’ time.”
Moody was then full of praise for his new home track at Pakenham, where Incentivise will round out his preparation for his next assignment. He has also left no stone unturned, taking Incentivise to Caulfield for a first-hand look at what can be a tricky track for first timers.
“Yeah, he’s been there, but he’ll just stay for the next two weeks at Pakenham, the team out there do a great job, they give us great facilities to train on, a lot of thanks to them,” Moody said.
“He’ll just stick at home, he’ll do a bit of pace work on Saturday, then have a little spin on Tuesday week, something like that.
“I’ll just see how he pulls up out of this and that will guide how much I’ve got to do with him.”
Prebble is no stranger to the group-one winner’s stall, but his voice quivered when talking about Incentivise post-race.
“It was a big effort today, I’m proud of him,” Prebble said.
“They didn’t leave him alone, he didn’t get much peace, but I’m fortunate he’s a very kind horse and he doesn’t take the bridle and he does conserve his energy.
“We were probably going half a second quicker than I would have liked to for the first 1000. We got through his gears and let him start to pick up from the half mile and he gave me a good feel, I thought he was going to win.
“He can take it up, cop whatever is served at him and look what he did today…he ran them into the ground. He showed them today, it’s no fluke his last group one, and yeah, he’s pretty cool.”
Prebble suggested you can’t teach a horse what Incentivise showed in the closing stages of the race.
“He’s got his mouthguard in and he really has a dip for you. It’s hard to get a horse like that, it’s a bit emotional, but it’s a good feeling,” he said.
Prebble said he had never had a better chance of claiming his first Caulfield Cup win.
“I got beat in the shadows of the post one year, on Circles of Gold,” he said.
“I’ve had a few tries at it but I must say I’ve never had a weight-for-age horse going into it with 55 kilos…so I’m pretty happy with the seat I’ve got.
“It’s not far away and he’s a very fit horse. We wanted to have a proper gallop today and we did that. We come away a group-one winner and he had some good ones behind him, chasing him, and they all had their chance.
“He’s put his hand up and he’s definitely the real deal.”
