Racing: Moroney hopes colt is The One to watch

Taking on the Golden Slipper winner off a last-start beaten performance in New Zealand is about as tough as it gets.

But Matamata colt The One will face off with Miss Finland in Saturday's A$450,000 ($528,200) Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

Miss Finland's earnings are A$2,090,075 compared with The One's $33,125 and The One will give the Melbourne filly 2kg under the set weight conditions of the Champagne.

Co-trainer Paul Moroney said the group one juvenile race had always been a possibility for The One, who at his last start finished second to stablemate Jokers Wild in the group one $150,000 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes at Awapuni.

"He needed to do very well after that race and he has, he's done exceptionally well."

The One was flown to Sydney last night, where Moroney has been for several days purchasing at the Sydney Easter Yearling sale.

Moroney said the stable was well aware of the enormity of the task given the hiding Miss Finland handed out to the Golden Slipper field.

"But the filly has to prove she can run the 1600m and we know The One will."

The One is staying bred and has run on strongly in both of his last two starts.

"If he gets the right sort of run we're confident he can get some of it."

The One will be ridden by Greg Childs.

The Moroney stable has a score to settle. A decade ago it had to make an awkward decision, whether to take champion filly Happyanunoit to Sydney for the Champagne Stakes and risk losing the Ford 2-Year-Old Championship in New Zealand by being absent from the Manawatu Sires Produce.

Happyanunoit was beaten in the Champagne Stakes by Dracula and Zola nudged her out of the Ford Championship by winning the Manawatu Sires.

Australian bookmakers will not frame a market on the Champagne until the field is finalised mid-afternoon today.

"There are too many variables," said Mark Morrissey, book manager for Colin Tidy's Sydney betting shop.

"Apparently Miss Finland will definitely run after being withdrawn on Saturday.

"It wasn't the cut that she received that pulled her out, it was the medication she had to have, so the cut is not going to be a factor.

"We want to make sure of everything before we lay a bet."

The New Zealand TAB has former New Zealand stayer Fooram as $3.50 favourite for the A$800,000 Sydney Cup on Saturday.

The former member of the stables of Frank Ritchie and Richard Otto in New Zealand, Fooram has been hugely impressive winning lately from the Sydney base of John O'Shea.

The top of the Cup market are $3.50 Fooram, $6 Molotov, $6.50 Demerger, $8 Lachlan River, $9 Envoy, $12 Zabeat, $13 Three Chimneys.

* Secretary Doug Stuart said the Riverton Racing Club may look at putting up another stake similar to the $50,000 which made Saturday's Great Western Steeplechase such a success.

Last year the club raced the steeplechase for $10,000 and this year's stake was meant solely for the 100th running of the race.

"Yes, it went so well we'll look to doing it again," said Stuart, who spent the best part of six months tracking down the 98 jockeys who had ridden in the Great Western to invite them to attend Riverton.

Stuart said it was the biggest attendance at Riverton since his involvement started with the club in 1987.

"There were around 5000, which is not bad for a town with a population of 1600."

Paul Nelson said the dashing Great Western winner No Hero arrived back in Hawkes Bay in the early hours of yesterday morning in reasonable shape considering he'd endured a 19-hour float trip.

"We left Rakaia at 8am and got back home at three this morning - jeez it's a long way."

Nelson said he had been a touch concerned that No Hero lost weight on the trip down to Riverton, but the horse had picked up by raceday.

He confirmed No Hero would run next in the Waikato Steeplechase, but beyond that everything depended on the dashing grey's handicap.

"We've got to try to avoid the wet tracks, because they'll just make it harder with the big weights.

"I'd like to think we'll come back to the Hawkes Bay Steeples, but we'll see."

Australia is a possibility, but the even higher weight scale for jumpers in Melbourne makes that another wait-and-see possibility.