Why it’s Waller’s Queensland Oaks to lose
IT may be a redundant call at this point but baring a catastrophe, Chris Waller will be successfully defending his Queensland Oaks title this Saturday at Doomben.
Not only does Waller take in the $2.80 favourite at Sportsbet Youngster into the Queensland feature, but the champion trainer also brings four of filly’s stablemates, giving him five runners in the capacity field.
Another Dollar (barrier two), Savacool (barrier 12), Impulsive (barrier six) and Miss Shanti (barrier one) all enter this year’s edition hoping to emulate the feats of Egg Tart the year before.
All quality prospects in their own right, Miss Shanti and Impulsive (both at $81 via Ladbrokes) appear to be the pairing of the five that will struggle in the 2200m feature.
We’ve been big fans of Another Dollar at times throughout her burgeoning career, but we believe it will be the Waller duo of Youngster and Savacool fighting it out on Saturday.
Let’s have a look Waller’s two best chances heading into the Queensland Oaks.
Youngstar
Youngstar comes into this race on the back of a hat-trick. A deserved favourite, the three-year-old is one-from-one at the track and looks extremely hard to beat.
Youngstar has quality form over a number of horses in this field, including star stablemate Another Dollar, which she toppled by a neat length in The Roses.
Youngster is the $2.80 favourite at Sportsbet
Savacool
Savacool put together a disappointing performance in the South Australian Oaks at Morphettville, finishing seventh of 14 runners but the horse had plenty of excuses.
The horse went into that race on the back of a strong win in a 3YO Handicap race at Caulfield and would be a lot shorter in the market if it weren’t for the wide draw.
Savacool is a $7 chance at Crownbet
The Verdict?
If there’s one safe bet going into Saturday, it’s that Waller takes home the Group 1 feature from Doomben this Saturday, but what will be the result?
We think it’s going to be between Youngster and Savacool, most likely in that order. Youngstar is hunting a fourth-straight success and looks to be an excellent prospect. Savacool unfortunately isn’t drawn ideally, but we think it should be doing enough to round out the top-two.
A Youngstar/Savacool is our play of the day at Doomben.