A huge Melbourne Cup Day crowd is almost a given due to the city’s public holiday on the first Tuesday of November. But there’s no gazetted day off on the Thursday of the Melbourne Cup Carnival week. In 2004, that didn’t stop a staggering number of 110,677 racegoers turning out to watch the VRC Oaks.
Over the past dozen years, the crowd numbers have almost halved for Ladies Day, but more than 60,000 will still head out to Flemington this year – many of who will still be sending an SMS to the boss lamenting the misfortune at being struck down so suddenly by illness! As a race day, it pales somewhat compared to the other three days of Australia’s ultimate racing festival. The AUD $1,000,000 Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) for the three-year-old fillies is the main event, supported by a pair of Group 3 races and a handful of Listed events.
Star power rules in day’s feature
The oldest fillies’ classic in Australia, the VRC Oaks was first contested in 1861. The presence of the names of some of the winners from those early days is slightly dubious as the 1864, 1868, 1870 and 1877 editions featured only two runners. Initially run over 12 furlongs, the distance was changed to 2400m with the introduction of metrics in racing in 1972, before becoming a 2500m race the following year to provide a longer run out of the straight before the first turn.
With the fillies untried at this distance, history shows that star quality is often enough to carry winners over the line as shown by the presence of Light Fingers, Surround, Rose Of Kingston, Research and Miss Finland on the honour roll. Short-price favourites are common in the Oaks, and that’s the case this year with Yankee Rose almost prohibitively priced at $1.65 (with Ladbrokes).
Yankee Rose dominates the market
That’s not to say she won’t be a worthy winner after a roller coaster ride alongside her trainer David Vandyke. The All-American filly was terrible in trackwork heading into this prep, and after finishing sixth in the G1 Golden Rose at Rosehill in September, connections feared she would never deliver on her immense promise. But she bounced back to be just pipped in the G1 Flight Stakes before winning the G1 Champion Stakes (200m) at Randwick.
Yankee Rose then turned in a stunning run to place third behind Winx and Hartnell in the Cox Plate to smash her rating through the 110-barrier. Vandyke, who recently shifted his base from Sydney to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has overcome drug and alcohol demons of his own, so they make a resilient pair deserving of more G1 success. Gate 13 isn’t ideal, but she simply wins.
It’s the day for the greys
There may not be much value in the Crown Oaks, but a couple of others on the card appeal at more generous prices. The third of the day is one of the most unique races on the Australian turf calendar. The Subzero Handicap (1400m) is a benchmark 90 affair reserved exclusively for greys! The superbly-named #4 Murt The Flirt ($4.60 with William Hill) won last time out at Caulfield and is drawn/weighted better than his main challengers, Sydney pair Rock Forthe Ladies and Onerous.
The Listed Mumm Stakes (1000m) also looks an intriguing affair with the return of injury-prone Terravista as he takes on the low-flying Hellbent from the all-conquering Darren Weir stable. The sprint fields have been heading for the outside fence this week, so the wide draw (12) is ideal for Hellbent. Take any price in the black for him to make it three in a row.
