Moira Not Ready For Aussie Start Yet; Felicia Tackles Sistina

Fans of the Queen will have to wait.

Canadian Horse of the Year and 2024 Eclipse Award winning turf mare MOIRA will not race on March 22 in Sydney, AUS at Rosehill Gardens in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes. The Ontario-bred six-year-old, who was sold to Yulong Investments after her Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) win at Del Mar last November, is expected to make a start or two before she is retired to broodmare duty.

The daughter of Ghostzapper, a $4.3 purchase by Yulong, recently arrived in trainer Chris Waller’s barn along with stablemate Full Count Felicia, who is up for Champion Turf Female in Canada for 2024. Waller, who has half a dozen top mares in his stable, noted earlier this week that he wanted to separate all his stars. His biggest star, champion VIA SISTINA (also owned by Yulong), is odds-on for the Ranvet, a race she won last year.

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Full Count Felicia, who opened up some 20 lengths when she won the E.P. Taylor stakes (G1) last fall at Woodbine, upsetting Moir, has been entered in the 2000 metre race which will be 11:45 p.m. Friday night, March 21, Toronto time. As of this writing, there was rain in the forecast in the Rosehill area.

Moira, Full Count Felicia and another major North American purchase for Yulong, Anisette, are among the nominations for the A$4 million G1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) on April 5, as well as two features on April 12: the A$5 million G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and the A$1 million G1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m), restricted to fillies and mares.

Both Moira and Full Count Felicia were trained at Woodbine by Kevin Attard.