A tongue tie helped enigmatic galloper Sound Journey find his best form as he gave trainer Mark Kavanagh and jockey Michael Rodd their second win in the past three runnings of the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley.The six-year-old Good Journey stallion was sent out at $14 in the Group Two 1600m event and enjoyed a fast pace before swooping home to score by a head from Trader ($21) with Drumbeats ($7) 1-1/4 lengths away third.The now-retired Sea Battle did the same two years ago before finishing runn

A tongue tie helped enigmatic galloper Sound Journey find his best form as he gave trainer Mark Kavanagh and jockey Michael Rodd their second win in the past three runnings of the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley.

The six-year-old Good Journey stallion was sent out at $14 in the Group Two 1600m event and enjoyed a fast pace before swooping home to score by a head from Trader ($21) with Drumbeats ($7) 1-1/4 lengths away third.

The now-retired Sea Battle did the same two years ago before finishing runner-up to All Silent in the Emirates Stakes (1600m) at Flemington and Sound Journey is also heading to the Group One race in two weeks.

"The key thing is Kav has changed his work around a bit and put the tongue tie on and it has changed him," Rodd said.

"He was a different horse today. He was very comfortable going to the barriers and was nice and relaxed, normally he can get a little but narky.

"He's still a bull (stallion) and you've got to give him room to go when he's ready to go. You can't annoy him too much.

"They went ridiculously hard and he was able to come out three-wide at about the 1000m and track Rock Kingdom (fourth) and I just sat on his tail and he gave me a wonderful drag up."

Kavanagh has had the horse for 18 months since he left the Mick Price stable.

He has won three of 15 for Kavanagh who says the horse was "absolutely on top of his game" on Saturday.

Michael Walker, who rode the runner-up Trader, said he thought he had the race won when he dashed clear.

"I was trying to save him up for the last bit as I thought with the 53kg they wouldn't 't catch him, but he stargazed and totally lost concentration. It cost him the race," he said.

Meanwhile, Gold Salute has to jump out satisfactorily before stewards before he can race again, much to trainer Mark Riley's disgust.

Gold Salute held up the start for several minutes when he refused to be loaded and then once in the gates he tried to back out and broke part of part of the barrier.

"It won't make any difference and what happens if he comes back and does it again," Riley asked stewards.

Chief steward Terry Bailey replied: "That's the system, you know how it works."