Darryl Sherer
More Than Ever (More Than Ready x Danalaga) headed to Moonee Valley on Saturday chasing his third straight win and duly delivered.
The five-year-old gelding was coming off two consecutive wins at Morphettville and trainer Tony McEvoy was confident leading into the race that More Than Ever was up to the Melbourne city test.
Ridden by Jamie Kah, More Than Ever settled mid-field on the rail in the Chandler MacLeod Handicap (2500m) and despite her rivals setting chase after pacemaker San Remo, Kah kept her cool and bided her time.
When a gap presented itself coming around the turn Kah made her move, the pair scooted along the inside and ran on to win untroubled by 2.3L.
"The ownership allowed us just to take our time and they are getting rewarded now," McEvoy said.
"There is more to come from this fellow, he was just fantastic today.
"It was beautiful ground here for him today, he could get his toe in a little bit, he is no good if the tracks are too firm.
"The ride by Jamie, she just showed her absolute class today. It looked really ugly there coming up the side but she just let it all unfold and let it open up and away she went. It was a 10 out of 10.
"Raffles race all around the world and are great supporters and for them to be supporting my stable, I am very proud of that."
More Than Ever, who was purchased out of Trelawney Stud's 2016 Inglis Easter draft, was bred by Raffles Dancers who race him under their Raffles Racing banner in partnership with a group of owners including Newhaven Park.
A patient ride has resulted in More Than Ever winning easily in the end. @jamieleekah07 has a double at @TheValley. pic.twitter.com/gcFNHrJTl1
— Racing.com (@Racing) August 3, 2019