Edwards says a tough goodbye to his Oaks winner

Trainer Luke Edwards admits he still doesn’t know if he wanted to sell his WA Oaks harness racing winner August Moon (Captaintreacherous) to America.

The filly delivered him his greatest moment as a trainer earlier this year in the $150,000 feature, scoring a brave win over Turn The Page.

The daughter of Captaintreacherous is set to join Shane Tritton’s stable in America later this month, after what Edwards said was an offer too good to refuse for both him and the owners.

“It was a last-minute decision that a few owners decided to sell her,” Edwards told The Trots WA.

“We were close to sending her over there and keeping some of her ourselves, but it was going to be hard getting the prize money back to Australia.

“They’ve been good owners to me, so I organised the sale.

“It’s probably in their best interest to head down that path because now they can do things like pay off their mortgage.”

August Moon built a formidable racing record of 10 wins from 18 starts prior to her departure.

She established herself as the dominant three-year-old filly this season scoring wins in the Sales Classic (1730m), Dainty’s Daughter Classic (2185m), Westbred Classic (2130m) and WA Oaks (2536m).

A $41,000 purchase from the 2021 APG Sale, August Moon went on to earn connections almost $300,000 in prize money.

Edwards said while he knew it was the right decision to sell the filly, there was a part of him that questioned if he was doing the right thing.

“She had four weeks off at Debbie Prentice’s after the Oaks and when there was a chance she was going to be sold we brought her home to get her vetted,” he said.

“All the build up to it hit me a bit because she’s been my best horse and I was going to sell her.

“It was probably that drive home when I started to come to peace with the decision.

“She was my first Group 1 winner and she’s been such a genuine and competitive horse for me.

“It’s pretty satisfying to say the last time I put a bridle on her she won a Group 1.

“I’ll be excited to see how she goes over there.”

August Moon flies out of Australia next week and will join Tritton’s stable after a week of quarantine.

August Moon won’t be the only recognisable name to continue racing in the Northern Hemisphere, with the Greg and Skye Bond-trained Patronus Star and Himself also on their way to the USA.

Himself won the 2022 Golden Nugget (2536m), while Patronus Star scored his biggest success in the 2020 WA Derby (2536m).

by Tim Walker for RWWA