Peak still to come for maiden winner

Peter Moody has high hopes for Reach The Peak who broke through for his maiden win on the Caulfield Heath.

Moody, who trains in partnership with Katherine Coleman, believes the three-year-old, a son of Grunt, could be a potential Derby contender come the middle of next year following his win in the Sportsbet Racing Form Plate (1800m) on Wednesday.

Sent out the $2.30 betting site favourite under Linda Meech, Reach The Peak scored by a length from Dark Simba ($5.50) with Olney ($7) a nose away third.

“He might be a horse like a South Australian (Derby), Queensland type in time,” Moody said.

“That’s what you’d hope for that these horses if they can stick out a mile-and-a-quarter and maybe a mile-and-a-half in time.”

Reach The Peak was lining up for just the third time on Wednesday.

After a debut fifth at Donald, Reach The Peak caught the eye when a flashing second at Caulfield Heath two weeks ago when ridden by the injured Luke Nolen.

“He should have won last start,” Moody said.

“I think he caught Luke unawares. He (Nolen) hadn’t had enough practice at the jump-outs, so he was a bit ring rusty.

“He (Reach The Peak) probably got a little lost when he got to the front, but he still did enough to round it out.”

Moody said he would let the dust settle on Wednesday’s win and discuss option with the team at Yulong before deciding on their next move.

“We’ll just enjoy today and see how he pulls up. We’ll see what happens with the team at Yulong, but more importantly we’ll let the horse guide the path.

“If he’s got another one, we’ll further his education because as you can see he’s still learning, but if not, we won’t hesitate to stop and see if he makes the bar a little bit higher next time round.”

Meech said Reach The Peak has loads of ability, but is still dumb, in a racing sense.

“Physically, he’s very impressive, mentally, he’s just still learning his craft,” Meech said.

“He hangs in when he’s on the bridle, and once you get him off it, he likes to lay out.

“He probably would have won easier, but he switched off when he got to the front.”