A 17-year journey: Moody and Dalziel celebrate first Group 1 victory together

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Saturday’s G1 Australian Oaks promised a thrilling clash among three standout fillies: the impressive Kiwi filly Orchestral (NZ) (Savabeel), Godolphin’s G1 VRC Oaks victor Zardozi (Kingman {GB}), and Autumn Angel (The Autumn Sun), representing the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman team carrying Wylie Dalziel’s white and royal blue silks.

Autumn Angel, coming off a commendable performance in the G3 Adrian Knox S. just seven days prior on a Heavy 9 track, showcased resilience despite conceding weight to All Banter (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and narrowly finishing second by 0.66l.

Despite reports indicating she was thriving in the lead-up to the G1 Australian Oaks, Autumn Angel was still deemed a $6 chance by bookmakers, trailing behind the $1.65 favourite Orchestral and Zardozi, who shared equal footing at $6.

However, those who backed the form of the G3 Adrian Knox S. were handsomely rewarded. Under the guidance of jockey Mark Zahra, Autumn Angel displayed unwavering determination, denying Zardozi, with Orchestral settling for third place on this occasion.

The triumph marked a significant milestone for Wylie Dalziel of Dalziel Racing, a boutique syndicator with a long-standing partnership with Moody spanning 17 years. Remarkably, despite their enduring collaboration, this marked the first instance of Moody training a Group 1 winner for Dalziel.

In an interview with The Thoroughbred Report, Dalziel reflected on the milestone and shared insights into the brilliant Autumn Angel’s journey to victory.

Confidence grows

Speaking after the victory, Dalziel told TTR AusNZ, “Autumn Angel is a really good filly. Definitely the best filly I’ve ever had anything to do with. She’s just got something special about her. Autumn Angel wants to compete and she won’t lie down.

“Some of the media were touting the G1 Australian Oaks field as one of the strongest editions in a long time. I’d have to go back and do some research on that, but obviously Orchestral and Zardozi are well respected.”

Dalziel continued, “Peter Moody was extremely bullish all week. I was in Sydney with him for the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, and I live in Melbourne, so I just decided that there was no point going home when he said we’re going to run in the Oaks.

“I thought, well, I may as well stay up here instead of flying back and forth and rebooking flights and accommodation. So, I went to Randwick three mornings in a row and watched Autumn Angel work, and she was just in the zone. She was absolutely thriving. The trainers in the Randwick tower, such as John O’Shea and Peter Snowden, all made comments like ‘your filly is looking good out there’, that gives you a bit of confidence.

“It was fantastic and so satisfying to be able to buy for a good group of owners that backed us. I said, ‘let’s buy a couple of fillies’ - we’ve got a pretty good record at buying fillies and thankfully this one has been a good one for them, and very pleasing as many of them have been racing for a long time without having a Group 1 winner.”

Easter a happy hunting ground

The first time Dalziel and Moody laid eyes on their 2024 G1 Australian Oaks winner was at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale at Riverside Stables.

Then known as Lot 49, the pretty chestnut filly was a daughter of Arrowfield Stud’s five-time Group 1 winner The Autumn Sun and the fifth foal from the Hussonet (USA) mare Angel Of Mercy.

She was bred by the Arrowfield Group and Jungle Pocket, the joint venture with Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm, and knocked down to Dalziel Bloodstock and Moody Racing for $230,000, significantly below the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale average of $399,700 and the median of $300,000.

Dalziel admits the sale, regarded as the ‘bluebloods’ of the Australian yearling crop, has been a happy hunting ground for bargain buys. “I always try to shop in that $150,000 to $300,000 bracket. I believe that’s a very good price range to shop in.

“I think if you do the stats, it would show a lot of good colts and fillies have come in that price range. The Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale tends to scare some buyers away that want to shop in the lower end to the middle market, and they think because it’s a sale of the bluebloods they can’t buy them. But Inglis will tell you year in and year out you can get a bargain.

“James Price from Inglis in Melbourne always rings me and tells me to get up to the Inglis Easter Sale because you’ll get a couple of bargains.

“We’ve bought very limited numbers out of the Inglis Easter Sale and have done very well. Even at this year’s sale just gone by, we had a budget of about $750,000 but we only spent $300,000 on two fillies for virtually the same group.

Gallery: Purchases made by Dalziel Racing and Moody Racing at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

“We missed a few that went for $400,000 and $600,000, and we’re like, ‘Nah, we’ll let them go,' but I think Easter's proven that you can get them in that $150,000 - $300,000 bracket and have success; they’re there.”

Autumn Angel's victory not only marked a significant milestone for her ownership group but also for her sire, The Autumn Sun. The stallion has already seen success through four stakes winners, with Autumn Angel notably among them, having previously triumphed in the G3 Ethereal S. and the G2 A V Kewney S. However, her win on Saturday gave The Autumn Sun his first Group 1 winner as a sire.

Patience rewarded

In the spring of 2023, Autumn Angel emerged as a strong contender for the G1 VRC Oaks at Flemington. However, co-trainer Peter Moody advised Dalziel that despite her potential, it would be best for the filly to spell and return in the autumn.

Understanding Moody’s expertise and trusting his judgement, Dalziel relayed the decision to the owners, who, though disappointed, supported the move with the belief that Autumn Angel would reward their patience.

“She always showed talent. Her debut run was at Cranbourne in April last year against her stablemate, Legacies. So, that turned out to be a very strong quinella. Moody said she was very immature physically and mentally at that stage, so we’ll put her away.

“Moody and Katherine (Coleman) brought her back in the spring and won her way into the G1 VRC Oaks winning the G3 Ethereal S. I’ve been with Moods for like 17 years and I’ve always backed him. I say to my owners, come along for a ride and just let him run the ship here. Don’t disagree with what he wants to do otherwise it will go pear-shaped.

“Most people are good, they’ll go along. Sometimes I might lose the odd owner because they want more say but I just said, “Look, too many chiefs will just spoil it all. Moody knows what he’s doing and has a great team around him.

“So, after she won the Ethereal that put her as like the for $4.50 favourite for the Oaks, Moody rang me on the Sunday morning and said, ‘The owners are not going to like me,’ - and I was thinking ‘Oh, what why is that?,’ and Moody just said ‘I really want to put her away for the autumn because I think she could go to the VRC Oaks and she’s just about right for it but I don’t think she’s 100 per cent right.’

“That’s what Moody is like. He’ll always put the horse first and owner second. He said “She could go there and be competitive but I think if we put her away now and give her the spring off and the sun on her back she’s going to reward us.

“She was a little immature in one knee as well. There were no significant issues going on but he said we’ve x-rayed and there’s a little bit of immaturity still. He said, ‘You’ll need to tell the ownership group now because I’ll have to tell the stewards and the media will be informed and will release it.’

“I said, ‘No worries mate, I’ll always back you. Let’s be patient.’ I rang the ownership group and did an update that we are going to spell Autumn Angel. They were all a bit gobsmacked and I just reassured, 'you just have to back Moods. I’ve been with him for a long time.' They were all really good about it and now they could see the benefit of patience on Saturday. It was worth the wait.

“After the race they’re all like, 'Oh where do we go now?' - I said just sit back and you’ll find out. See how Autumn Angel pulls up and what Moody thinks. But it was a great one, those guys were so excited. A lot of people I’ve known like Peter Blunden, the Managing Director of the Herald Sun, he’s been a good friend and I’ve never asked him to go into a horse ever until these two fillies, one of them being Autumn Angel.

“Before I bought them I asked him if he was happy to jump in, he said of course. So, that’s his first Group 1 winner and he’s been in the game for a long time. There’s a couple of guys in their 70s, who never had a Group 1 winner until now. It was a first Group 1 winner for most of them.

“They’ve been in the game a long time and thrown a bit at it, I think it will take a couple of weeks to sink in what’s happened. Autumn Angel is just a perfect example; you give them that time and if they’re a good filly they’ll benefit from it.”

Dalziel indicated that Moody informed the ownership that if Autumn Angel comes through Saturday’s run well and continues to do so there is the possibility of pushing on to the G1 Queensland Oaks.

“She wasn’t hammered in the spring and has only had four runs this preparation. If she pulls through this run, she’ll possibly go to the Queensland Oaks.”

Milestone moment

Despite their long relationship, it was the first time Moody and Dalziel had tasted Group 1 success together in the owner/trainer role. However, Moody had previously found Dalziel’s dual Group 1 winner Mr Quickie (Shamus Award).

“I got with Moods when my old mate Roy Higgins passed away, which was another great omen. Actually, Greg Radley from Sky Channel grabbed me and did an interview, actually informed me that Roy has ridden the most G1 Australian Oaks winners of any jockeys in the history of Australian racing, which I said, ‘Oh geez, I should have known that off the top of my head but I didn’t.’

“So that was really, really special to hear. When Roy passed away we had quite a few horses going into Moody’s stable. I got a little bit lost for a while when we lost Roy suddenly. We didn’t think we’d lose him that early on and I didn’t know what to do because Roy was always my wingman.

“Roy would help me a lot and give advice. He was just a great man in racing all around. I rang Moods up and asked him to come and have a chat, so we met at the Emerald Hotel in South Melbourne, which he knows well.

“We had a couple of beers and I said, ‘Mate, I just want to go to the next level. I want to get nice horses and give it a proper shot because I’m passionate about racing, I love it. I would like to buddy up with you because I think you’re honest, a great bloke and a great trainer. You don’t mess people around. If the horses aren’t shaping up, you tell us straight away and suggest easier for them. You don’t just hang on to them for the sake of trying to win a maiden.’

“Everything just adds up. So Moods said, ‘Absolutely, mate, let's go and do it.’ Then of course, Moody had that time out of racing when he quit over the cobalt saga. What happened was Moody rang me and said, ‘Look, you’re not going to like this but I’m going to go away for a while.’ He probably needed a break, not that he wanted it that way, of course. Moody beat the two charges he wanted to beat but he couldn’t beat the presentation charge.

“He had the option of taking six months off but I think he had three years off. I went to see him at the stables and he was literally closing the gates and sweeping the floor for the last time and I sort of had my lip to the ground and what are we going to do?

“I said, ‘Mate, would you help me? Like continue on with the bloodstock work and advising me at the sales. Help manage the horses and help recruit owners.’ Thankfully Moody said he’d love to do that. Away we went, and we started buying yearlings together and we’d give them to other trainers.

“We owned Mr Quickie together, who won our first Group 1 in Queensland and then he won the G1 Toorak H. at Caulfield, but we couldn’t be there because it was the COVID-19 lockdown.

“I watched that race in my lounge room in Ballarat on the beanbag in thongs, shorts and a t-shirt. We weren’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything. So, I said to my wife, 'let’s get some takeaway to celebrate.'

“Then Moody decided to return to training and he rang me quietly and said I’m going to come back training but don’t let anyone know yet. We’re working it all out now. I said, ‘Oh geez, I hope you’re going to train for me,’ and the answer was of course, I’ll train for you.

“Since then we have rebuilt the numbers. Moody is training them and it hasn’t taken us long to be honest. We’ve got some really nice horses, and had some great winners. We have started off well but Autumn Angel is the best filly. Moody was pretty chuffed to do it for us.

“He knows I’ve worked hard to get owners into these horses and I’ve backed my judgement and backed his stable. Getting winners like this helps my business but also I retain ownership in all our horses. I get some prizemoney coming through the door.

“It’s always been my model. I’m a pretty small operator compared to the other guys. Most of my owners are more referrals and people that I’ve known for a while. I think people like when you take a stake in the horse because the owners go, ‘Oh, if he’s in it, he’s obviously backing himself too.’

“For the numbers we’ve got, I think we’ve got a pretty high strike rate. If they’re not good enough I say to the owners, ‘look we will sell them or we’ll retire them if they’re geldings,’ that’s better than getting a couple of grand and not knowing where the horse is going. I’d sooner give the horse to someone to look after them at a good home. Horses look after us, so let’s look after the horse.

“Obviously with our fillies and mares like Autumn Angel they’ll really reward everyone when they go through the sales ring as a broodmare prospect.”