Emily Moon

Emily Moon travelled like the most likely winner for a long way in the two-and-a-half-mile mares’ handicap chase. Settled nicely back in the field and towards the outside early on by Robbie Power, she travelled well early on, if a little keenly. She was a little bit long at the third fence, but apart from that, her jumping was good in the main, if a little to her left on occasion. She travelled strongly down the side of the track and she moved up nicely on the outside to move into third place as they rounded the home turn. She appeared to be travelling best as they straightened up for home, but she came under pressure on landing over the second last, and she just couldn’t get to the two leaders. She weakened on the run to the last, and she just kept on up the run-in to finish fifth.

This was Emily Moon’s first run over two and a half miles over fences, and it looked like the distance stretched her stamina beyond its limit on the heavy ground. She has run three times over two and a half miles over hurdles, and she has come up short on all three occasions. She did win a mares’ beginners’ chase over two and a quarter miles at Thurles in March on her chasing debut, and it may be that she will be seen to best effect over fences back over that type of trip or even back over two miles, especially on winter ground. She used to be a front-runner over hurdles, and it may be that a switch to more aggressive tactics over fences would suit her well at a shorter trip. She will be interesting too when she runs at a left-handed track over fences. She does tend to go to her left a little over her fences, and her four runs over fences to date have all been at right-handed tracks. She could be a well-handicapped horse over fences on a mark of 126, 3lb lower than her hurdles mark.

Fairyhouse, 29^th November 2020