Comparisons to Sunline continued to flow after emerging superstar More Joyous racked up her seventh consecutive win and her second at Group One level in the George Main Stakes at Randwick.
The four-year-old is level pegging with the great New Zealand mare at the same stage of their careers on her path to the Cox Plate.
Her dominance of yesterday's weight-for-age field had her jockey Corey Brown looking for superlatives and trainer Gai Waterhouse reaffirming her opinion.
"She is outstanding, she always has been," Waterhouse said.
"She is one of those glorious horses I love to train.
"She will go to Melbourne and she will show them down there as well on Cox Plate day.
"A couple of people from New Zealand weren't happy when I compared her to Sunline but form expert Dominic Beirne told me they rate the same at the same stage of their careers."
Waterhouse said owner John Singleton had ruled out a start in next week's Epsom Handicap in favour of the Toorak at Caulfield in two weeks.
"If she was mine, she'd be running in the Epsom," she said.
"But I'll leave it to John and she will go to the Toorak."
Multiple Group One winner Theseo ($4.20) did as expected and led the field for the 1600m feature with his stablemate More Joyous ($1.60 fav) on his tail.
In the straight, More Joyous attacked and Theseo had no answer with the mare skipping to the lead.
She held off Trusting ($31) by a comfortable 1 lengths with Empires Choice ($101) an eye-catching third another three-quarters of a length away.
"She is a special racehorse," Brown said.
"I didn't have to do much on her.
"They didn't go as hard as I thought they might and she did a bit of work but she's the perfect racehorse.
"She does it effortlessly, I don't know just how much there is."
Trusting's trainer John Thompson said the horse was likely to back up in the Epsom.
"I'm happy with his run and he's improving," Thompson said.
"He's thinking a bit and needs to keep his mind on things.
"But we've run second to a superstar."
Empires Choice is also a chance to back up in the Epsom after the encouraging effort at his second start from a long injury break.
"I spoke to Bart during the week and we discussed the Epsom," stable foreman James Cummings said of his convalescing grandfather.
"I hope he does, he's going really well."
A downcast Nash Rawiller said he could find no reason for Theseo's performance after he weakened to finish seventh of the eight runners.
"That's the worst run of his life," he said.
Danleigh finished fourth and will almost certainly miss the Epsom.
- AAP
Racing: 'She's as good as Sunline'
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