MOODY (15/2) caused something of an upset in the Al Shira'aa Racing Meadow Court Stakes as she made all to a three-and-a-half-length victory under Billy Lee, while stablemate One Look (5/6f) finished sixth after finding the ground too firm, according to trainer Paddy Twomey.

Successful over nine furlongs when trained by Andre Fabre for Godolphin, Twomey’s €125,000 Arqana December Sale purchase won listed races over a mile and a half, and a mile and six furlongs on her first two starts in the colours of Mel Sutcliffe but showed plenty of pace on this drop down to 10 furlongs.

Lee made a determined effort to set the pace in the Group 3 and quickened approaching the turn for home. Her advantage never diminished, as she kept on strongly while William Haggas’ raider Rhapsody (10/1) took runner-up honours from the longtime second Nyra.

“She’s won her listed race, her listed race with a penalty and now her Group 3,” Twomey commented. “She’s versatile, I’d say that’s a good trip for her and she’s not short of speed. To be fair, when she won over a mile and a half at Cork, she quickened. The mile-and-six race just came at a time when it made sense for her.”

On what drew him to the daughter of Night Of Thunder, the trainer reported: “I liked the look of her form. We buy a lot of those fillies at that level; we can’t afford maybe the better ones, and some of them work and some of them don’t.”

Moody’s unbeaten campaign is the highlight of a fine season for owner Mel Sutcliffe, Twomey added, explaining: “He has two with me; Deressa won in Ballinrobe last month. This is his first year having horses with me and they’ve run five times and won four times, so he’s having a good run.”

A Group 1 is now the goal for the unbeaten four-year-old, with her trainer noting: “She’s in the Jean Romanet, she’s in the Yorkshire Oaks, she’s in the Vermeille, she’s in everything. I felt that if I waited for the Give Thanks [Stakes], I’d be too close to all those races.”

Regarding One Look, he said: “I’d say the ground was probably quick enough for her, even though she ran on it the last day but I’d say with that tempo, on that ground, she wasn’t that comfortable on it.

“We’ll freshen her up and she’ll be tried in similar races – the Jean Romanet, maybe the EP Taylor, something like that. We’ll try get her a Group 1 slot if we can.”