Matt Laurie eyes Queen Of The Turf success with Treasurethe Moment

Earlier this autumn, trainer Matt Laurie needed to decide whether to point Treasurethe Moment at the Doncaster Mile or save her for the following week in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes.

Seeing the exceptional filly Sheza Alibi handle her Doncaster Mile opponents with ease seven days prior convinced him that skipping Randwick's classic mile was the smart move.

"It was going to be the Doncaster or this race, one or the other," Laurie said.

"We felt this was a better race to target, particularly with the likes of Sheza Alibi, who before we made our mind up looked like something special, and she clearly confirmed that in the Doncaster.

"I think we made the right choice in avoiding her.

"We've still got a task, but she has been an amazing horse for us and we're returning to Sydney, she's unbeaten there, so hopefully it will stay that way."

Boasting 11 wins from 18 career starts, Treasurethe Moment exemplifies the high-quality training delivered by Laurie.

Formidable at age three, she delivered top-class results upon her return in spring, defeating Mr Brightside in the Memsie Stakes (1400m) and running prominently behind Via Sistina and Buckaroo in the Cox Plate (2040m).

This campaign, Laurie has kept her workload minimal, positioning her third-up into Saturday's Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) off a dominant Sunline Stakes (1600m) success.

Expecting front-running Australian Cup placegetter Pride Of Jenni to inject real pace into the mile, Laurie believes Treasurethe Moment's endurance will shine through against rivals potentially exposed by a searching gallop.

"She's gotten out to 2000 metres and beyond, she has won two Oaks, so she should be able to sustain a good amount of pressure," Laurie said.

"Pride Of Jenni's last start effort was outstanding and that big effort can be hard to replicate at times. We'll be hoping she has already produced her best this prep and maybe she can be found out in this race.

"We've made a concerted effort to keep our girl to the mile and only give her a few runs and she's going into the race in really good order."

Last weekend, Treasurethe Moment settled into Sydney, finalizing her Queen Of The Turf prep with sharp exercise on Wednesday.

All updates from Laurie highlight her strong shape, complemented by a perfect barrier three draw.

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