The McEvoys are set to charge towards the Blue Diamond with their progressive filly Moana Spirit after her victory in the Geelong Diamond on Saturday.
The 2-year-old finished strongly over the 1100m, with trainer Calvin McEvoy saying he was happy to see their filly account for some highly regarded runners.
“She’s a beautiful, laid-back filly and very unassuming. She was quite raw in her work going towards Adelaide and we didn’t expect a huge amount. She went over there, she won, and since she returned to Flemington, we noticed that she’d really switched on and I thought her jump-out in between was fantastic,” he said.
“There were obviously some horses today with big raps on them and we probably came in under the radar.”
“It’s fantastic for Team Yulong. It’s one of their homebreds and we’re thrilled for the support and nice to get a win for Tagaloa.”
McEvoy said Moana Spirit had now earnt the right to have a crack at a Blue Diamond.
“I think we will have to now, for sure,” he said.
‘’Everything about her tells us that she’s going to be better at three, but she’s two from two, she’s won her way in today, and we might keep her a fresh head towards a Preview maybe and then hopefully she’s there for the Blue Diamond.”
Geelong Diamond I Moana Spirit
Urged late by Luke Currie, Moana Spirit lifted in the final furlong to collect win no.2 from her second start 🤝
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/ZIa4a02wC0 pic.twitter.com/jn9IuV6fjG— Racing.com (@Racing) January 3, 2026
Ridden by Luke Currie on Saturday, who said the filly, while impressive, still has a fair bit of work to do to catch up to some of the other stars he has ridden.
“Probably a bit early to say, but she’d have a little bit to catch up on the likes of Sunlight, Lyre and Artorius, I suppose, but she can’t do any more than win,” he said.
“I think she feels to me like she’s going to be better when she furnishes in time, but she’s got a great attitude and she’s doing everything right, so that’ll take her a long way in her two-year-old prep.
“Today she was really dynamic. She jumped well, as she always has, and just speaking with Calvin before, she probably looks like she still needs to furnish, strengthen a little bit and her main attribute would be our turn of foot, rather than sort of ride her and put her on top of the speed because she jumped so well, and then have her get tired.”
“So, she jumped well again, there was solid pressure from both sides, I came back, and she had the right run, got onto the favourite’s back cornering and she was really sharp when I asked her.”
